


Problems with Neighbors and Family.

by Pchan2017



Series: The MayWeather Element. [3]
Category: Underswap (Undertale AU), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: CLOSED- Rough Draft but still part of the series!, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-09-26 14:10:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 38,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9902462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pchan2017/pseuds/Pchan2017
Summary: -CLOSED-This is the original work which set off the Mayweather Experiment. Warning if you read this, there maybe spoilers. This story is being reworked through the now newly begun series. I did not wish to lose track of this however, it was an important part, it was the story which got me back into writing again.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter one, Papyrus is going to have a bad day.

It has been a couple of years now, since the monsters were freed from the underground, and it has taken awhile for them to integrate into society, but over all, it has been a success. That is to say, they have manage to be recognized as citizens of the countries they have decided to settle into, own homes and businesses and such.. but there is still a stalemate in the air. Some people just can not get over their selves and accept change.. and sad to say, your brother is one of those sort of people.  
Which made things really interesting when he came to crash on your couch, when yet again he had a fight with his wife and needed a place to stay. You had gone at least six months without having to play hostess for him, but begrudgingly, you opened your home back up to him once again and reminded yourself for the hundredth time that it had been worth the extra money to buy a pull out couch rather then a more comfortable couch.  
What made this difficult... was your neighbors, neighbors you had become rather close to over the past few months. So on the first day of your brother's extended stay, you slipped out while he was asleep, and hurried across the street to inform your friends of the situation. You apologized to Pap for waking him up, and he gave a groggy disgruntle reply before flopping down lazily on his own couch, one long leg propped against an arm rest while the other swooped down on the shaggy carpet. His sported one arm behind his head and the other across his chest, you made mental note to remember this image.. since he had yet to don his comfy orange pull over. "So.. yeah.." you sighed as you explained about your brother.  
"So.. he is an ass, that 'bout sum it up?" Pap huffed as he plucked a cigarette from his pants pocket. "LANGUAGE BROTHER!" Sans hissed from the stairwell and you face palmed. Oh no.. you did not need the little blueberry of sunshine to be in on this conversation just yet, you had raced over here just so you could discuss with Pap on how to keep your tiny bundle of excitement away from your lump of racism on the couch across the street.  
"Sorry Bro" Pap muttered around his first of the morning smoke, the ember glowed a rich amber and fiery red as the skeleton took a long, slow drag, only to release the smoke in a ring that still left you puzzled as to how he could do that.. eh more questions for later, you supposed. But now to the problem at hand.. how to deal with hyper boy over there. "DO YOU REALLY HAVE A BROTHER, HUMAN? IS HE A LAZY BONES LIKE MY BROTHER? THE MIGHTY SANS SHALL BE HAPPY TO MAKE INTRODUCTIONS!" You were scrambling after him with a series of 'Nonono, Sans seriously, wait a moment!' failing from your lips as you tripped over your own feet.. oh this did not go as planned.  
How could a small skeleton be so quick? You hurried after him, but each time you got close enough to grab him, he seemed to quicken his pace.. it was not long till it was an all out chase across the street.. and Pap was right on your heels. "Why don't you just teleport?!" You snarled back at him, you knew he could.. so why was he being a jerk and letting you do all the leg work today?  
You could have sworn you saw a shrug but didn't have time to think on it.. having not been looking where you were going, you plowed right over a suddenly frozen Sans, tumbled forward and crashed right into your front door... owch. For a millisecond, you debated why you had to have a front door and whose damn idea was it to put it right where it was now.. when the solid barrier moved and you feel face first in front of a pair of heavy work boots.  
Well crap. Glancing up, you gave a small smile to your wide eye brother, who had yet to say a single word.. there you were, face down on the ground, a small skeleton behind you, another one racing up now.. with what seemed a rather determined look on his face.. and.. was that blood trickling from your nose? If you had seen it once, you had seen it a million times, the way his ears would start out red before the rage flushed all over his head and down his neck.. you had to be on your feet and defusing this quickly.   
As you were picking yourself up, you felt that familiar tug at your chest and the whoosh as you were ceremoniously lifted with tingling magic and set back down on your feet. Sans seemed rather proud of himself, and your brother seemed mortified.. magic, his main hatred of monsters.. magic. He always claimed it was a cheap and cheaty way to live.   
Sans' smile failed however as he noticed the crimson bead that rolled from your nose and had dotted your shirt.. well white was a poor choice to wear anyway, in your opinion, a white shirt never lasted a day around you. You caught his smile faltering and knew that you had double trouble on your hands now..  
"H..HUMAN?! YOU ARE INJURED! PLEASE LET THE MIGHTY SANS HELP AT ONCE!" He rushed forward but was met with the business end of your brother's boot. Ok, three problems now... you had to all but tackle your brother to keep his head on his shoulder as an orange bone the size of your femur went flying over head.  
"Everyone calm the hell down!" You screeched and held a finger up to your brother to keep him at bay for the moment. Sans had picked himself up off the ground, seated himself, and stared at you stunned for a moment before the inevitable wailing began.. oh man, if you didn't act fast, Papyrus would end your brother were he stood, and then he would be shipped off to some inhuman monster prison.. this was getting bad.

You did the only thing you could do.. you swept up Sans in your arms and stood between the two enraged brothers.. this, this was going to take a lot of work..

 

End of chapter one.


	2. Chapter Two: The bad day continues.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bad day continues, and Papyrus has to get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I am so sorry that last chapter was too short! But man was I a bundle of nerves about sharing it. Anyway, thanks for the kudos!   
> They really sparked up my excitement to keep going ^_^ ..also when I spell checked this, there was one word that got switched, and I realized too late that I had selected the wrong one.. but I can't find it as I reread over the fic, oh well, if it seems out of place, I will eventually find it!

Standing between a very angry, right wing, conservative and a very angry magical being was not a place you wanted to begin your day..   
Especially before you even had your morning coffee. Sans squirmed in your arms, protesting rather profusely about being held and that if everyone   
would just calm down a moment, he was sure they could all be friends... But you were pretty sure that ship just sailed right off into the horizon.  
"Ok, if everyone could just take a deep br.." You gave a sudden yelp as a bone flung just past your ear, thankfully your brother had the good   
sense to duck. "Hey! Knock it off now!" Fuming and setting Sans down, you stomp right over to Papyrus... First to settle things with this hot head   
bone head, and then to deal with the knuckle head behind you. "That is my brother!" One finger placed firmly against the skeleton's sternum as you   
spoke seemed to do little to break his focus on your brother, but you did catch the how he rolled one shoulder back in recognition. Your voice dipped   
in volume and laced with venom when you spoke up once more. " I don't go around throwing projectiles at your brother, you can stop doing the   
same to mine.."  
That.. Seemed to click. You received a knowing glare, that meant you two were going to have one heated discussion later, but Papyrus   
turned on his heels and had his back to you. This gave you a moment to breath before having to deal with Mr. hostile pants behind you. "Alright I   
know this looks bad.." You started, holding your hands up in a manner that spoke volumes of figuration as you turned about. Yep, he was mad.. Still   
tomato red and you were so grateful that you had insisted after his last visit, that he never bring another firearm into your house again.. Mental note,   
make sure he didn't slip one in one of his bags before coming over.  
You were quick to shush him before the triad could begin, cause once he could get going, there was little stopping him. With that, you   
have a hastily apology to the brothers outside and shoved your own back inside once more. Passing by your door, you grimaced at the crack left in   
the paneled surface, that was going to cost a bit to fix.. Money that you really didn't want to spend right at the moment. Shaking the thoughts aside,   
you had bigger problems to deal with.  
Yelling, lots and lots of yelling would take place that morning, and so you decided to do what you had always done as a kid, let him yell it   
out but keep him well enough distracted that only you would catch the brunt of his out bursts. "I just can't believe it, sis! I insisted that you take up   
my offer to house you in a gated community, they wouldn't let trash like that anywhere near you!" You bristled at that comment, and noted it down to   
discuss once he was finished. "How can you stand to live across the street from them?! I swear, more and more of those monsters" the way he   
said monsters sounded as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "The more of those monsters that take up homes and jobs in our country, the less   
space there is for hard working people like me and.." He paused.. Yep he had hit the bad note, the only thing he knew not to talk to you about or   
around you.  
You set the coffee cup down on the counter with deadly silence, you needed that cold tiled surface to grasp on to till you could cool your   
head and find your words. He KNEW you were unable to work, your nerves having been so frayed and frazzled, the multiple trips to counseling, and   
time you really should have spent a stay institutionalized for your own safety but had managed to keep yourself together by a breath's whisper of   
control.. Your mental state was being called into question once more by his hot headed remarks. "Sis.." The anger had dropped from his tone now,   
and he reached a hand out to touch your shoulder... You were smoldering, right then you wished you were a flame monster like that bar keeper who   
Pap would visit so often, you would have loved to torch his hand right off..  
"Don't." Was the only thing you could grit through your teeth, and he knew better then to push it. "Ok, look.. I will be back after work.. We   
can talk then.." Well, at least he was no longer angry, but he felt guilty and be damned if you knew that guilt wasn't going to set in your gut like a ball   
of hot lead. It sucked, it truly and honestly sucked. He really didn't know what it was like to live with a brain that second guessed your every move, it   
had made work impossible.. You were always certain that your coworkers were conspiring against you, that someone was always out to get you in   
some sort of trouble, and that you could trust no one... It had been a difficult road, learning to trust even your own family again, after you had finally   
received medical assistance on the matter.  
Your mother had been understanding, but you still doubted that your father had accepted the truth about you and you knew your brother as   
well as extended family just saw you as lazy.. It wasn't until one particularly bad night, that the knuckle head had to bring you back from the brink,   
that he began to understand. Still didn't stop the ugly glares you received at family reunions. You shook your head once more with a sigh. You   
needed to stop that train of thought right now.. You were focusing on the negative again, you had to focus on your breathing before you could set off   
another attack.  
Inhale.. Slow exhale.. Inhale.. Slow exhale.. Your hands were shaking now, and you felt the start of those annoying tears creeping up.. It   
always began with your face flushing warm, your vision blurring and your nose clogging up before the ick would try to escape. And then would come   
the trembling. 'Just give in..' that little voice in the back of your head whispered. 'Just let it out, you have no plans for today anyway..'  
Soon you were slipping down to the chilly tiled surface of your kitchen, knees brought up to your chest and face buried in your hands. Yep,   
the attack had settled in, and you just let it come along. You knew some people thought you childish for your weak moments, and it only made it   
worse when your mind reminded you about this.. You were a grown woman, living on what income the courts had decided to give you, sustaining   
and surviving, you had given up actually living sometime ago, just surviving..   
Why didn't you hear the door open?"  
"HUMAN!" You felt a familiar pair of bony arms wrap about you, you hated yourself all the more.. Sans didn't need to see you like this. He   
was babbling something in your ear, something comforting, but it wouldn't help right now. You had slipped further into your depression and self   
loathing, and had to ride this storm out. You vaguely recognized a second set of arms lifting you, the scent of stale tobacco and a slight sticky sweet   
smell. You curled yourself up tighter into a ball as you let the aroma assault your senses.. No matter how angry he was with you and your family   
right now, he was there.  
It took some time for your to settle down from your spell, and that entire time the pair stayed with you. They had witnessed one of your   
attacks before, and it had nearly scared poor Sans to death, he had followed you around like a worried puppy for two days after that. You eventually   
explained it to him, that you had a chemical imbalance in your brain, and that you were taking medication to help you through it.. As well as bi-weekly   
counseling meetings. He had insisted on making sure from then on out, that part of his daily routine, was making sure you had taken your   
medication and were keeping your appointments.  
Which was probably why he stood near by with a certain orange bottle with a white cap, and a plastic cup of water, waiting for you to calm   
down. "You really do not need to skip your medication, human.." His tone was softer, filled with concern and a tiny bit of scolding. "I..I know" you   
hiccuped a little from all the air you had swallowed in your tremors.  
Papyrus said nothing, and once you had uncurled and was just snuggled up to his chest, attempting to meld yourself into his sweatshirt,   
he would busy himself with rubbing your back and staring out the window. You know it troubled him, that you could fall this easily.. He had mentioned   
how your soul was erratic at times like this.. It most likely called out to them when the attack hit. You still didn't understand how he could see your   
soul, or hear it for that matter, but you accepted his words with a nod and would continue on your days most of the time.  
Today was a bad day, one of the worst in awhile. You had not had a complete break down in a couple of months, and the last time, it had   
not been this intense. This made you feel worse, you thought you had been making progress not regression. But these thoughts were shoved aside   
as an impatient Sans had plucked a pill from the bottle and you now found it pressed between your lips and into a very dry mouth. You accepted the   
cup of water and choked down the pill, but said little. Your voice was good and raw now, and your throat felt as if a boa constrictor had settled in   
around it.  
Sans gave you a smile that was meant to be reassuring, but you could see that it did not reach his eyes.. dammit, you had scared him   
again. You sighed and pressed your face in against the crook of the taller skeleton's neck, hissing between your teeth in a whisper. "I hate this.." He   
knew what you meant and gave your shoulder a light swat for it, you knew you hated yourself. "None of that.." His voice was a bit gruff, but you knew   
he cared.   
The morning was a long one after that. The pair saw to it that you found your way out of the murk and mire that was your own mind.. And   
succumb to sleep, these attacks always drained you, and usually a nap would refresh and lighten up the mood a bit. It was always easier to think   
clearly when you were not cycling through a spiral and was rested.  
"..I Need to get to work, can you keep an eye on her?" The taller of the two kept his volume low as he settled you on your own couch,   
snagging a blanket near by that surely that idiot of a brother of yours had used last night, and tucked it around you. Sans simply gave a nod, he was   
still a bit unnerved by what he had seen, but you were a friend and you needed him so he would stay. "Got your phone, right?" another nod. "Good,   
call me when she wakes up.. We need to talk."  
With that, the air around Papyrus grew heavy and wavered before he blipped right out of view, another one of his shortcuts it seemed.   
Sans was used to that by now as well, and thought it a bit convenient and time saving, if only the lazy bones would put as much effort into cleaning   
up his room as he did skipping here and there through.. Well what ever means of travel he used. Sans couldn't help but smile to himself at that   
thought, he would chide his brother later, but for now he would settle into you and be the best , best friend guard he could be! He puffed up his small   
chest and crossed his arms.. No one was going to upset you again today!  
Papyrus, thankfully, was not late for work again this time. Though the morning had been a bit of a struggle to keep him on track.. Not that   
he cared at all for schedules, they seemed like a waste of time, trying to keep everyone in some sort of order. He was soon at his spot, cart near by,  
the grill top sizzling and he was ready to give his unique flare to street vendor food. He has discovered rather quickly that the humans had few   
options, when it came to food on the run, and with a bit of practice he had turned his favored dish of pancakes, to crepes.. It wasn't one he had really   
wanted to explore much, but they cooked so much quicker and were easy to do once he got the hang of it.   
Of course he had consulted a cook book on just how to do this task, and soon his wares were available for human consumption. And   
people seemed to like them. A selection of syrups.. Which he had to keep restocking due to his own personal weaknesses, jellies and jams, and   
other toppings made his cart one of the more popular ones for the regulars to stop by.  
It helped that the scent of his cooking would draw others near, Muffet had been rather helpful in some tips on how to entice people to buy,  
and he had took her lessons to heart. Employing little tricks here and there, such as offering for a few days the 'regular' price and then dropping the   
cost down on a 'sale', these sales were actually higher then what profit he should have been making to begin with, but it was a cheap marketing   
tactic that worked. Though, he did take a loss here and there when he spotted someone who really was hungry but low on cash.  
He had a soft spot in him for those who were still struggling, human and monster alike. The city was not always a kind place to be, and he   
would make sure to help out those who honestly needed help, when he could. But today he was distracted, and more then once spelt a bit of the   
sticky food on himself. How was he going to deal with your brother without upsetting you further.. He could not allow his own brother to be in harms   
way, and they had grown to like you over the short period they had been your neighbors.. A sigh and a shrug, he could only hope your brother was   
not going to stay around of a long time.

End of chapter two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a bit more I would like to add to this chapter, but I spent so much time on the reader's condition, that I couldn't get the flow and   
> transition into the rest of it, it will just have to wait for the next chapter. Sorry if this one bogged down a bit, and I hope it did not come off too   
> melodramatic.


	3. Chapter Three, Things always get worse before they get any better.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus is trying to figure out how to deal with your brother, when things take a darker turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, for the kudos and the comment, it meant a great deal to me. Getting through that first chapter and actually continuing   
> on is a struggle, I know, I wrote it rather poorly, but I am very happy you have dredged through all of this with me. I will continue to attempt to give you better chapters, though I am not certain they will always be at my best ability. Today's chapter, well it is going to be difficult to write, not so much on its content, but due to some outside situations. Please, enjoy and have a wonderful day.

Papyrus' day had started out rather cruddy, dipped low, and finally picked up once he was at work. Normally he would have sought any   
excuse to ditch work, but today he needed to keep himself distracted. Things with your brother had left him hot under the collar and he needed time   
to cool off before he even tried to talk to you about it.  
So one forced smile after another, and he sold quite a few more wares then he had expected to, so much in fact that his supplies ran low   
near the end of his shift and he was able to end things a little early. Cleaning the food cart and returning it to the storage unit he kept on rental, his   
mind drifted back to what he had seen that morning. Not only did someone actually cause his brother harm (be it not that great deal of hurt but still..   
The matter stood that a human had struck Sans, and made him cry.. He had also caused you, a pretty decent friend, to have one of your episodes. If   
Papyrus had, had blood, it would have been boiling.. For now, the marrow in his bones seemed like it wanted to just steam right through him. But   
how was he to deal with the situation? In the underground, your brother would have been brought to the Judgment Hall (by his own volition or not)   
and he would have dealt with the idiot right then and there.. But then he would have to face you. How would you react if someone took your brother   
away? Papyrus knew how he would handle it if something like that happened to Sans.. But you were more like Sans then like himself, and that was   
troubling.. It was never good when the sweet ones would break.  
Rolling his shoulders back, he sighed.. This matter had to be dealt with, or it was only going to get worse. The click of the lock, brought him   
back to the moment, when he finally had his cart secured away till tomorrow.. 'mental note.. Get supplies before work tomorrow.' That would have to   
be added to the check list, if he didn't keep a list these days, he would forget something.. There was always so much going on, now that monsters  
lived above ground. Life have changed so much, in so many ways. They couldn't just deal with problems like they used to, and each monster knew  
that the humans were just waiting for a chance to send them back underground anyway.. Well most humans.  
He smiled a little, and he felt that familiar tug at his soul. People like you, your kind were the right sort of people. Warm hearted, concerned   
for others, and you laughed at his jokes most of the time. Best of all, you watched out for Sans when he wasn't around. A lack of a royal guard had   
been a bit troubling for Sans, but you had given him something to focus on. The pair of you had decided to take up gardening together, that past   
summer. Determined by next year to place in the local gardening competitions and maybe even make it as far as the state fair! Sans swore up and   
down that he would grow the best, biggest tomato that anyone had ever seen, and when all the judging was done, he would use it in his best taco   
recipe and win the cooking contests as well. Papyrus thought back on that smile you had given Sans.. It spoke volumes, even though you said little.   
I'll be there, in case we don't win, I'll be there for you.' Pap had read that smile clearly, and it had settled some of the worry in his bones.  
Pulling his orange hood over his head, his hands in his pockets and his demeanor appearing more relaxed then he actually was, Papyrus   
decided today was a good day for a walk rather then a short cut home. He still had to mull this problem over in his skull, how to deal with someone   
so close to someone he cared about. A sigh seeped through his teeth and soon he found he had lit a cigarette without giving it any thought. A haze of   
smoke, it always helped to calm him a bit more, and helped him to focus. Your brother was going to be a big problem, and he couldn't insist that   
Sans keep away from your house, that would only send the two of them insane with each other.. He knew Sans would insist and demand to see you,   
and try to befriend that asshole of a brother of yours.  
What to do.. What to do. 'Agh.. This really rattles my bones..' He huffed. Expelling another puff of the acrid smoke, he tilted his head   
skyward and slowed his pace to a halt, staring up at the passing clouds over head. Of course, not looking around ones self when in a busy section   
of town, can be a problem. A sharp pain struck his shoulder and he stumbled back a bit. A flare of orange blazed out from his hoodie as he settled   
his attention on what had struck him and disturbed his thought.  
"Get out of the way, filth!" A certain voice.. That voice, had surged out with thunder and venom as someone had purposely collided their   
shoulder with his, and pushed him out of their way. Craning his head to the side, and taking a half step around, his gaze settled in on the form of his   
ire. In the crowd, walking away without a thought of glancing back at the being he had just plowed past, was your brother. Papyrus felt it bubbling up   
once more, that need to send a bone straight through a certain thick skull.. And it was all he could manage to do, not to send such a projectile flaring   
through the crowd.  
'Keep it together, Papyrus..' he hissed to himself, but he did find himself following your brother. And a certain someone seemed to realize   
he was being followed. Scents lingered in the air, and Pap could pick them out, one at a time.. sweat, a lot of people, of course there was the scent   
of sweat in the air. Smoke, well of course, he had been smoking. Perfume.. He really didn't like how some of these humans had to dose themselves   
in the most obnoxious scents possible.. And finally it struck him. The putrid scent of alcohol. It wasn't too fresh either.  
Two blocks down, and a dip into an alleyway, was where Pap found himself finally facing off with your brother. The man stood, his back to   
the tall skeleton before he spoke up. "I want you.. And that runt, to keep your claws off my sister. In fact.. It would be best if you two just packed up   
and left this town, forget about coming around anymore." Oh that did not sit well at all.. He read the threats in your brother's slurred speech all too   
well. "Funny..." Papyrus' normally relaxed and jovial tone was lost, in its place was that of a monster who had just reached his limit. Icy and   
promising suffering is what his tone carried. "One would think, that a brother would want to see his sister happy, rather then being such a bone   
head.. It would be best if you thought about those words, human... Because, if you really want to have a bad time.. Then we can really have a *bad*   
time.."

 

~~~

You had found sleep, its emotionless grasp cradling you like a child, and you snuggled comfortably into the blanket. On the other side of   
your slumber however, stood a fretting Sans. "Human.." He sighed and ran his gloved hand over your brow, brushing your bangs aside. "Human, you   
are one of my best friends, how can you have a brother so different from you?"  
Sans then would take a liberty that he would never speak of to anyone, he pressed his teeth to your forehead in a tender kiss. It hurt his   
soul that someone like you went through situations like this. Your mind was your own worst enemy, and your own family did little to help the situation.   
His palm rested against your cheek with such tenderness. The humans had not been easy to deal with, but Frisk and you both had been a light in   
this dark world. The above ground was not at all what he had expected, but Sans had held to his optimism, he had to, someone had to keep an air   
of joy around when his own brother would seem so dower at times. Humanity had been harsh and judging, and then.. They found you, and a few   
friends like you.. But aside from the child Frisk, you had been the first to greet them with open arms.. OK you greeted them actually with a skull   
shattering screech but after that, and after that first panic attack, you had been happy to welcome them to the neighborhood.. He smiled warming at   
the thought, once the scary part of that day had passed, and you had awoken to being held by the smaller skeleton.. You had stared so wide eyed at   
him as he rattled off how grateful he had been there to catch you.. And how wonderful a person you must have been to be so surprised by his   
greatness.. Yes he knew he laid it on a bit thick, but it did the trick.. You smiled. You even laughed a little, though it might have been a nervous laugh.  
"Human.." Sans sighed as he watched you sleep. "I promise, I will always protect you." Ensuring the blankets were in place, he crept   
away.. Speaking so softly was unusual for him, but the last thing he wanted to do was wake you early after a hectic morning like that. Sans made his  
way to your kitchen, he knew your house well enough by now, having spent as much time as he could here. You two had become fast friends, and   
you had taught him how to make some exciting new foods.. One of his favorites had been chicken tacos. He was still marveling how he had never   
thought to use a different sort of meat rather then beef! You had introduced the use of lime and various ingredients, though he still felt that something   
was missing without any special sparkle to the dish.. With great reluctance, you had finally given in, and taken him to a hobby store. He loved that   
store, cause once you had lead him down a special aisles that held nothing but baking supplies.. You had placed a small container in his hand, one   
that brought a huge WHOOP! Of joy from him. Edible Glitter.  
Apparently humans liked to use it when decorating cakes and cookies.. What a waste, it should go in tacos! Cause what was a taco   
without that special sparkle? Sans held his fist close over his heart as he stood there, proud of his own achievements. Glittery tacos were a must..   
And now that he had found a special glitter that would not upset his friends' stomachs, he had insisted that you keep a supply of the stuff in stock at   
all times.  
He didn't know why that made you make that groan.. He supposed it had to be the thought of the clean up, yes.. It was like regular glitter in   
some aspects, it could get everywhere. That was it, he would cook, clean and make sure nothing else could upset you once you woke up! So with a   
fire in his heart, Sans set out to make the best tacos ever, with extra glitter! 

~~~

The conversation had gone just about as well as one could expect. A bull headed human, and a determined skeleton had not ended with   
any pleasant notes, but more hostility and eventually a stare down. He had threatened Sans and Papyrus with violence, even to the point of calling   
up some of his buddies if he needed to.. And Pap had made no small matter of it, informing your brother exactly what would happen to him if he   
didn't back down and stop threatening the people that Pap cared about..  
In fact it would have came down to blows, had not Pap's cell began to ring and break his attention away from the situation at hand. "Yeah?"   
Sans was taken back, normally Papyrus answered the phone with a joke or a simple "Hey bro.." But today, he seemed upset, more upset then he   
had when he had left. "Um.. Pappy? Can you come home now? We.. I need you here, its important." Something in Sans' voice had struck a cord of   
worry with Papyrus.. Sans didn't sound at all like himself, in fact.. He sounded scared.. "Yeah, yeah of course bro.. I'm on my way.."  
The call ended, he shot one last glare of pure hatred towards your brother, and made use of one of his 'shortcuts' a great deal of cursing   
was left in his wake however, your brother was none too pleased with how these monsters could just come and go as they pleased. It wasn't   
natural, it was sickening and he was going to head back to your house as fast as he could, to make sure you were kept far away from those freaks   
of nature.  
Papyrus checked your house first, but found it empty.. There was evidence that the two of you had been there. The kitchen carried the   
scent of cooking, Sans' cooking to be exact. And the couch still had your scent linger to it.. Still warm in spots where your hips or shoulders would   
have put the most pressure into the fabric. You two hadn't been gone long. There was a second scent in the air however.. Metallic and salt, as well   
as another human? He did not recognize this one, it was a human he had never encountered.. A low growl rumbled in his chest.. If one of those   
scumbag friends of your brother had done anything to you two...  
A quick chirp from his phone, soothed his worries. The text was short and informed him that you two were across the street at his home.   
He breathed a sigh of relief.. Sans was home, and you were with him.. It must not be all that bad. Glancing around the living room once more,   
Papyrus took note of one thing he had failed to notice before.. A bag, a purse to be exact, and it was not one he was used to seeing. Quirking a bony   
brow, he made short work of getting his bones back home.  
What Papyrus would find however, was the last thing he expected. Two human females sitting on his couch, one battered and bruised,   
and the other trying to comfort her.. He cast a very concerned glance to Sans, who stood near by in a clear state of distress. "Sans..." His voice   
caused the unknown human to jolt and cling to you. "Sans.. Just what is going on?"  
The story came spilling out of Sans like a dam that had finally given way to the water pressure behind it. Sans could not hold back his   
blubbering distress about the woman who had shown up at your door in tears. Apparently this was your brother's wife, and she looked a good breath   
away from keeling over then. The woman had come by, to try to collect your brother and bring him home... She had pleaded with you and Sans, to   
let him come home, but once you had known the truth of this latest fight, you had insisted that she keep him far away from her. You had been   
ashamed when you learned of the facts that had taken place.. The woman had cheated on your brother.. Sans was not sure why this had not been   
much of a surprise to you, but he had been in shock when she spoke of how your brother had struck her so severally and the woman's cries must   
have awoken a neighbor.. Causing your brother to flee his house, and seek refuge at your home. Sans carried on with the sordid tale, recalling how   
your first reaction to this news, had been to bury your head in the kitchen trash and unleash the remains of your meager breakfast.. He also noted   
that you needed to have more in the mornings, then just coffee and your medications.  
Papyrus stood in shock at all of this.. The shame, the horror.. A human female had tried to get her own mate to come back, when he had   
hurt her so bad? She had lied to the cops about just how she had ended up so injured, and had come back pleading with you for that despicable   
mate to come home. Humans were.. Revolting!   
But his anger was sort lived as he watched you try to comfort and reason with the woman.. Clearly she was unwell, and not at all stable.   
He and Sans could easily see that, not just by how she sat and clung to you, but how her soul was broken in places.. Hair line fractures and deep   
valleys laced through her dim soul. It was worse then when he would look at your soul, though he didn't like to speak about it with you much. This   
human female was so damaged.. And she wanted to put herself right back into harms way?  
This would not stand. Not in the slightest. It was time that Papyrus put his foot down for good, he now had two more charges to watch out   
for , not just his brother, but two humans that needed to be protected. "That.. That human does not set foot in this house" all eyes turned to Papyrus   
as he spoke, his voiced filled with authority and command. He called out for your name, and you gave a small nod to his instructions. "You keep her   
here, Sans and I will get anything you two need. Sans, I need to make a few phone calls, do not answer the door unless I tell you to." Sans also gave   
a small nod.. When his brother was like this, something bad was about to happen.

End of Chapter Three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I know it is getting a bit darker, but things will eventually improve for.. Well mostly everyone.


	4. Chapter Four, Papyrus' Bad Day Continues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try and calm your friend as the day just creeps by, getting worse.. but your good mood is quickly dashed when a certain someone comes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the format for the past few chapters has been a little off, also.. I have no set schedule for this fic, but I will continue to work on this till I feel it  
> reaches an appropriate end.

You had given Papyrus a short list of the things you would need from your house, and he had seen to it that the items were quickly collected and brought home.  
Having finished that task, he inwardly groaned at the growing mental check list he had to deal with now. Next thing on the list.. To call a certain goat mom to come  
talk some sense into your sister-in-law. He would also place a few calls to the needed authorities concerning your brother, as well as contact a lawyer.. It seemed  
that this situation was just going to get worse as things progressed. Papyrus nearly snarled into the phone when the police informed him that without your sister-in-  
law pressing charges, there was little they could do.. Other then a restraining order, and really Pap could only have one put out against your brother, to keep him  
away from his own home, he couldn't keep the human away from the pair of you if you two decided to leave.

His next call was to Alphys, he needed a hand in case those threats from earlier panned out into anything more then just threats. That... May have been a poor  
choice on Papyrus' part, cause once the former head of the former royal guard had heard wind of someone threatening Papyrus and her favorite little blue  
cinnamon bun, she had charged right over.. And nearly scared the two humans to death.

Sans had to work quickly to reason with Alphys as the enraged warrior was ready to confront your brother and turn your living room red with that terrifying axe of  
hers, but thankfully, Sans being the sweetie.. A loud sweetie, that he was, soon had her rage reduced to a seething boil. You and your sister-in-law clung to each  
other and you could have sworn you heard the woman whispering prayers under her breath.. It was OK, you had been saying your own since the moment 

Papyrus' door nearly came off its hinges thanks to Alphys.

Mental note number.. What number was he at now? Twenty seven? Twenty seven sounded right even if it wasn't, he would go with that for now.. Anyway, Mental  
Note Twenty Seven, always contact Undyne before calling over Alphys for help in a situation like this.. The tired skeleton sighed, that was becoming a bit of a  
habit today, and scooped up his phone once more. Once that nervous aquatic monster could be there, things would smooth over a little.

Thank the stars for monsters with anxiety, they seldom show up late.. in fact they often stress so much over time limits and schedules, that they will arrive early.  
So when Undyne stated that she would be over in thirty minutes, that gave Papyrus about fifteen to begin brewing a pot of tea while Sans tried his best to 

straighten up the mess that had been created when Alphys had burst in with such a fury.

Soon enough, humans and monsters alike were seated in the quickly becoming over crowded living room, some sipping tea and glaring while others fidgeted and  
turned down the soothing drinks offered. Papyrus, however, had not let his guard down just yet, and kept an eye on the window near the entrance to his home.. He  
had to keep a watch out for any trouble that might arise. 

As promised, he had indeed made a call to Toriel.. Though perhaps Asgore would have been a better choice? The role of monarch amongst the monsters had  
dissolved once they had begun to live among the humans, and so the title of queen was now only an honorific that some monsters still held in great esteem, these  
days Toriel had spent her time ensuring the safety of those in her care, as well as spearheading several charitable projects for humans and monsters alike. Had it  
not been for her prowess with defending her people, as well as the widely known mother complex she carried.. Papyrus might have called her ex-husband instead.

Yet another mental note, once she had arrived and was smothering the pair of humans, Papyrus noted from the glare he was receiving from you.. That when this  
was all said and done, he was in deep. You managed to squirm your way out of over protective fuzzy arms and slink over to the second individual on your shit list..  
Your brother was first, closely followed, though fondly, by Papyrus..Ushering him outside as he lit up yet another cigarette, you were quick to snatch the burning 

cylinder and make quick use of it. Normally you wouldn't smoke, hell you rarely partook in drinking or anything else of that matter, that might alter your perception 

on daily life.. Not that the nicotine could, really, but you didn't want to pick up a new habit anytime soon. But today, yeah today was a day for something like this. 

You returned the half hearted glare you received from Papyrus as you absconded with his vice, and even managed a small chuckle when he cracked a joke about 

your petty theft of his smoke.

"Its times like these.." Your voice was hushed, though a bit gruff at the moment. "That I truly wish I was an only child." A warm yet boney hand clasped your own, 

and you expected some half hearted attempt to shift your train of thought but only caught a glimpse of your friend shaking his head sadly. Leaning against the  
skeleton, and taking note of the mix of sticky sweet aroma and acrid smoke that clung to his hoodie, you smiled in spite of yourself.. Papyrus and Sans were really  
good friends to put up with all of this.

"Hey, Pappy?"

One curiously brow crooked.. Seriously how did he do that with only bone for facial features.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"..Thank You."

A warm rumbling rattled through the ribcage concealed by soiled orange fabric, this enticing you to coil your arms about your friend. You returned the cigarette to  
him before nuzzling your face into that growingly familiar scent of his hoodie and felt the weight of his arm rest over your shoulders. You could grow to like this.. If  
only you didn't have some much freaking drama in your life right now.A small smirk curled over a certain fish woman's lips as she leaned next to Alphys, the pair 

had been keeping an eye on Papyrus and then you, as the pair of you had excused yourselves from the rest of the group. "I..I'd s..ship it." Undyne giggled and 

snuggled up with her favorite yellow lizard. "Perhaps.. But I think that ship would sink, if a certain little cinnabun was not distracted at the moment." Undyne could 

not help but frown at that.. Yes, if Papyrus and you were to explore further into an interest that she was certain was growing between the pair of you, Sans could 

be a problem.. He was so protective of the both of you.. And it was clear to see that he was perhaps maybe just a little bit more fond of you then you suspected.

"Eh, we'll deal with that bridge when we come to it." Alphys shrugged nonchalantly, but it was a weak cover up that Undyne could see right through. On top of all  
of this trouble you were currently dealing with, the future promised a great deal more.. That is if Papyrus and you actually decided to let your friendship bloom into  
something more.. As things stood, it could take one of several different paths.. Heck, tomorrow you might even meet another human you cared about, and where  
would that leave your two closest friends?

Alphys did not realize that she had begun a low, rumbling growl in her throat till Undyne tapped her shoulder to jolt her out of her train of thought.. No, that was not  
a problem to deal with right now. Right now a bigger threat would be returning home, across the street at any moment. And she needed to be on high alert for 

when that would happen.

Toriel had eventually released your sister-in-law, who though against the wishes of those about her, had composed herself enough to step outside and discuss a  
growing concern.. She wanted to return home, and deal with this privately.. In her eyes, too many were involved in the problem already. As she voiced her 

concern, you had to place a hand on Papyrus' chest to stop him from giving a sharp outburst at her request. "You can not force someone to do what you think is 

best, Pappy." You muttered as you watched the woman walk away, uncertain when or if you might see her again.. The trouble with your brother was growing out 

of hand, and you knew the horror stories of situations like this.

"We should go after her.." The skeleton beside you grumped, he hadn't quipped a joke nearly all afternoon and that had you even more concerned. "Tibia honest.."  
You offered a half smile, and in return received another questioning raised brow as he glanced down at you.. You could swear he was hiding a smirk. "I think, it is  
best that she makes up her mind on her own.. She would just resent our help, if we interfered further.. Well, humans can be stubborn at times, and it can lead to a  
rather terrible series of choices."

"I thought that stubbornness was called determination." Ok now the jackass was grinning at you.  
"Near about the same thing." You too were grinning, and socked your knuckles teasingly against his ribs, earning a 'Oouf!' from him and the loss of his cigarette in  
the process. "Oh that is how you want to play, eh?" Oh boy.. You started something now.

Toriel had taken up a seat near the window, along with the other monsters as they watched a rather confusing scene play out, right outside. The mood had so  
quickly changed from terror, anxiety, anger.. And now.. A silly display of friendly affection and teasing as you two rough housed right outside. Somehow, during all 

of your impromptu play with Papyrus, you had managed to pull the hoodie over his head, exposing his spine and lower half of his ribcage. Trapped in the fabric and  
being pinned to the ground as you pinned his hips and relentlessly tickled him, the tall skeleton wheezed and laughed.. You knew full well that he could untangle  
himself and easily get out from under you if he really wanted to.. But the tension that had been building up in him all day long, well it demanded some light hearted  
fun and though he would very much deny it later on when questioned by Sans.. Maybe, just maybe he was using it as an excuse to be close to the human who had  
thrown his life into a chaotic state.

But the fun and games would soon come to an end as the sound of an all too familiar truck being pulled up across the street, roared through your senses like  
thunder and shattered your good humor. Papyrus quickly readjusted his clothing and held firm to your arms, though he remained on the ground as the pair of you  
stared across the street.. Yep, you know who was home.

It seemed a cold, long minute as you watched with frozen blood and stilled breath as your brother set one foot on the ground, and then the other.. Exiting the aging  
work truck with such malice in his eyes. Your fingers were now digging into the orange fabric in your grasp, as if you were holding onto a life line. You don't  
exactly know when you began to tremble, but those warm arms were enveloping you soon.. As well as a second, smaller set. Sans nestled against you, glaring  
daggers across the street, tried to ensure some measure of comfort to calm you.. Promising everything would be OK.

Alphys and Undyne were soon standing on either side of the cluster that was the three of you, and Toriel was making her way to stand in front of the group she  
cared for so intensely. You soon realized that you were holding your breath, waiting for someone to move.. To make any sort of action. But strangely enough.. Your  
brother just stood there, he said nor did a thing for what seemed an eternity.. And that was bad.You knew it was bad. Quick to anger and action, meant that he 

could be dealt with.. But this, this just.. Staring at you, you knew something dark and malevolent was moving through his mind. Finally you could take no more, and 

buried your head against your friend's hoodie, blocking out the image of your brother and his hate.

The blood rushed through your skull and drummed in your ears as the panic was settling in with a firm hold.. Blocking out sounds, till the world seemed as if it was  
an ocean about you.. And your breath soon began to come in quick, rapid succession.. You were beginning to hyperventilate.. But your mind was so scattered with  
swirling thoughts of the violence that was surely about to take place, that you could not focus on calming your breath.. A hand moved across your back, and  
somewhere in the sea of noise.. Someone spoke in a calm tone.. But the words were lost to you.

You knew you were being lifted, but your vision had begun to turn dark as light narrowed down to a pin prick before your eyes. Someone was trying to shake you  
now, but you clung to the life line that you had been holding so intently to this entire time.. And eventually the dark settled in around you. "Shit!" Papyrus hissed, you  
had blacked out from the stress.. He was now standing, holding your limp body close to his own, silently promising your brother a very slow and painful death for all  
of this.. He was pretty sure Sans had said something about his language around you, but Papyrus shrugged it off for now. "Tori.. I'm taking her and Sans inside.. 

Do not let him get near this house till I return." With that, he shifted your weight in his arms so he could place a hand atop his brother's skull. The air crackled 

around the trio, light distorted for a moment and in a breath's whisper, they had vanished.

Alphys huffed a little, she was really never going to get used to Papyrus' teleportation.. And had always refused any chance he offered, to help her get somewhere  
quicker with one of those shortcuts.. It was too strange. Her focus was once more on the threat at hand. Would this human really be so stupid as to take on three  
monsters like this? Would he honestly attempt it in broad day light? In a community where, was the day was actually beginning to wane nearer to evening, more  
and more people were returning home.. And the stand off between the trio and the human continued, more attention was being brought to the situation.  
It must have finally clicked with your brother, causing him to finally break his stance, turn and storm inside your house, slamming the door behind him so hard that  
the shattering of glass rang out. One of the many pictures on your living room walls must have fallen.The small band of monsters eased back a bit, tension still 

clung in the air in a thick miasma, but the moment had been defused. Toriel was the first to speak up. 

"We should stay the night, and make sure nothing happens. I am uncertain what this human is capable once the sun sets and the other humans have returned to  
their homes." Silent nods of agreement were shared from the other to monsters and it was decided, you would have one heck of a guard patrol that evening.

End of Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was not too all over the place, my attention kept getting pulled away from what I was working on.. But eh, I gave it a shot! I have to admit,  
> missing a day( 2 days?) of working on this, and I had started to feel a bit daunted by this story.. kinda felt like I was writing the reader into a corner, but now I have  
> some ideas starting back up and the story should continue to flow a bit better from here on out.


	5. Chapter Five: Visions.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares and promises. Papyrus makes a brash choice which may cost him dearly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh! So many days without posting a new chapter! *flails* I am so sorry for being so lazy these past few days!

'Hey ..what do you say when a skeleton lies to you?' A cough ripped through your brittle voice, the metallic taste of heavy on your tongue as you tried to speak and the trembling arms that enveloped you shook with yet another sob. 'I..I..' A small smile played at the corners of your lips, of all the times for your skelly to lose the punchline. 'I can.. see right through y..' a rattling breath stole the last bit of your pathetic pun away, your eyes grew heavy and that welcoming ebony shielding your eyes for a final time. Papyrus threw his head back and wailed out the name of such a beloved friend.. his soul wishing to burst against his rib cage as you were stolen from him once more.

The vision faded, and the images blurred to yet another similar scene.

A smaller skeleton knelt by you, heavy blue tears seeping from his eye sockets as he held your hand.. held the gradually cooling appendage as if it were made of glass. 'Please.. please just stay with me, Pappy will be back soon.. just don't.. don't go to sleep!' His normal joyous tone and volume was replaced with one richly laden with mounting sorrow and quiet fear. 'Please..' his voice pleaded with you yet again.. the sound drowning out, muffled as if you were slipping beneath waves and your vision had begun to match 

what your ears would catch.. everything was growing dim and harder to hear.. you tried to call out to Sans, one hand rose half way in an attempt to touch his cheek and sooth him.. but it fell short as once more, that last breath escaped you.

The next images to play before your eyes, were less endearing.

A loud crash, shouting, and the thundering blast of a firearm jolted you, causing you to turn about in a whirlwind. Something splattered against your cheek.. it was warm, but rapidly chilling against your skin. Your soul thumped against your rib cage, and your blood frozen in your veins. The gun fell from your trembling fingers and soon you held your hands over your mouth, trying to silence the scream that tore from you in a wracking sob. Your brother lay before you, a growing pool of crimson surrounding him.. you had shot him, and not only that, you had shot him in the back of all things! What had lead to this? How had things turned so horrible so quickly? Your eyes flicked from the gruesome scene before you, to the stunned gaze of the monster standing only a few feet from your brother.. his hand held out, frozen in a feeble attempt to stop events which had already taken place. "I..I..I.." you couldn't find your voice.. and you could not stand the pity that you saw in his eyes. Turning heel, you raced away from your companion.. and the world blurred around you once more.

As you ran, images shifted all around you, things that had happened, things that could happen, things that will happen.. screams tore from you, wrecking your throat and stealing the air from your lungs. How many times? How many times had you loved and lost? How much blood was on your hands now? Murder! The voice in your head screamed out. Sinner! Thief! Brother stealer! Whore! All these cruel words, and many more.. you could not recognize the voices as they warped with the imagery around you, and on you ran.. 

That is, until you fell. Your foot having caught in something.. and your skin crawled as whatever it was, oozed into your shoe and clung to your leg.. you were quickly being enveloped by whatever it was. Turning to face the unknown mass, you stared upon inky darkness and your heart raced in wild abandon. One crazed eye, glowing with malcontent held firmly to your gaze, dark hands rose.. dripping with whatever it was that was now encasing your leg and traveling up to swallow you whole. 'It is time that you remembered.. your past mistakes. It is time to wake up now... wake up..' Wake up..

"HUMAN! WAKE UP NOW!' Ok, someone was shaking you, and that someone was going to die. Your eyes flew open, and a hiss slither out past your lips before you realized whose overly loud voice caused your ears to ring. "What in the name of blue hell do you need!" Your heart wanted to break as you realized just who you had now yelled at. That sweet little blueberry of a skeleton shrank back, tears threatening to spill from his eyes and his usual smile had faltered to a small line of hurt. 'Oh hell..' you grumbled to yourself and threw your arms about your friend before he could turn and run off to cry. "No.. stop that.. come on, I'm sorry!"

It was little use at first, Sans was upset with you for yelling at him, and for cussing.. at him! Honestly, how many times had he asked you and his brother not to cuss, it just was wrong.. and it didn't sound right coming from a human like you. Finally he would relent, his squirming coming to and end, and settle into being a little unhappy ball of bones nearly crushed in your hug, but his anger would not last long and soon the pair of you were held in a warm embrace, your hand dancing across the back of his head in an attempt to sooth the cinnabun. "I'm sorry, Sans.. I just.. "

"I know." His voice was small, quiet and kinda. calm, as he spoke. "You were having a nightmare, weren't you?" You gave a small nod, resting your head on his shoulder once you had succeeded in pulling him up onto the couch with you. "Thought so.. I, the great and mighty Sans could hear you whimpering from my room.. need to talk about it?" A small sigh was your answer as you clung to your friend. Shaking your head, you held firm to him, and snuggled up into the hug he had now been returning. Light was just beginning to creep into the parted curtains of the living room window, and the visions of your dreams were melting away to only a cold sense of dread in the pit of your stomach. That coiling knot of fear and worry found a friend with the concern you had for your brother and the entire situation as your gaze fell upon the sight across the street. Your brother's truck was still parked there, and from where you sat, you could just make out the image of an outline of someone standing at your own living room window, possibly staring back at you.. or turned away, it was too far to really tell. All you knew, was that someone, and that someone had to be you know who, was in your house and stood there, most likely glaring at you and your friend.

Hugging the skeleton a little tighter, your face buried in the shoulder of his comfy pajamas, a small whimper escaped you. Whatever you had dreamed, had left you shaken and troubled.. but the images had flown away to be forgotten, leaving only the fear that bubbled in your heart and twisted your gut. "H..Human?" Your whimpering had brought its own basket of worry to sweet Sans, and as you clung to him, your hand now clasped against the back of his skull.. the soothing patterns of your fingers having ceased moments ago, he decided to do what he could, to try to sooth and comfort you in return. "Human.. it will be ok.." His small fingers dug into your back for a moment before making tiny circles against the tense muscles that refused to relax. "We're all here for you.. Pappy, Undyne.. Alphy.. even Toriel stayed, you will be ok.. I promise you will be ok."

Your heart nearly stopped. A promise. Yes, you remembered a promise, so much like the one he gave you now. A promise you had failed to keep.. a promise to you, which had been broken.. A small sob broke from you, and in moments your soul was breaking in your chest, the visions and whispers of promises filled your mind and ears.. but none of it was clear. It was as if you were looking through foggy glass, trying to reach for something that whisped away between your fingers. Sans, troubled now by your crying, called out for help.. soon the other monsters were near by..each having been awoken from their own slumber.

Papyrus was the first to find the pair of you.. oh what a sight, he would not soon forget this, and he swore not to forgive the source of your trouble. He cast one hateful glare towards your home before kneeling down, and did his best to console you and comfort his brother at the same time. Boney fingers in your hair, soft words in encouragement.. the acrid scent of smoke and someone fussing about it, these senses descended upon you, but were lost as you slipped further away into your despair.. you no longer really knew why you were crying. Something almost tangible was there, whispering at the corners of your mind, but you could not grasp it to understand it.What finally broke your sobs into quieting hiccups, was the warmth which enveloped you and the sleepiness that followed. A fuzzy blur of lyliac danced before your eyes and soon the world faded away as slumber captured you once again.

"Torie.." A gruff, gravely voice rumbled from the taller skeleton's throat as he now eased you down against the couch. A strong, yet gentle paw settled on his shoulder and his boney hand rested upon it. "All I did, was offer a little magic to calm her down.. what caused this though?" Toriel soon as kneeling by her former subjects and one very dear human. "What would cause this break down? It seemed.. beyond what her normal troubles would cause, surely yesterday's events could not set off an attack this intense so soon." She truly was puzzled, having witnessed your anxiety attacks before, and your depression that followed.. Toriel had used her magic to calm you, several times now, but none of those episodes had been like this one. Always there was a build up, and though the brothers did their best to calm you before your troubled mind could attack your soul, she had witnessed the damage it would cause.

"Undyne.. Alphys, please.. go with Sans and keep watch? Papyrus and I need to speak." The inseparable pair gave a nod in unison, and soon linked an arm under each of a very adamant and protesting Sans as they swept him up out of the room. It was clear from Toriel's tone, that whatever she was about to say, would be more then the small skeleton could deal with at the moment. A great deal of protesting and an uproar of fussing rose from the struggling Sans, but soon he was whisked outside with the pair. Papyrus spoke before Toriel could, once his brother was out of ear shot. "How bad is it, tell me the truth, Toriel." There was no humor to be found in his voice, only a marrow stopping uncertainty. "I will not lie to you, Papyrus.. she is in trouble. I know you felt it.. as we all did. Her soul is.." He held up a hand, he didn't need to hear it from her.. he had already felt it.. felt it so intensely that he could hear it when it happened. Your soul had cracked, and this time.. it had to be a deep one.

They had spoken often about this matter, the hairline fractures in your soul.. It was what had originally drawn him to you. Your soul had been screaming, that day he first met you, screaming for someone to help you.. His minds eye replayed the day before him, and his heart sank a little with the memory. They had just moved in across the street when it rang out like a bell. Sans had dropped the box he had been holding and matched gaze with his brother.. a soul was screaming. It sounded unique, like bits of glass cascading from a great height and dancing upon the ground as they fell. But it was loud, and persistent.

He could remember how it felt to his own soul when they found you. You had collapsed in your kitchen, knees held tight to your body as you tried to curl up into yourself.. trying to hide away from whatever threat had caused you such distress. Papyrus had not acted as quickly as his brother.. so he arrived moments after Sans. Thankfully your front door had been unlocked, and the pair had skirted around the white plastic bags of forgotten groceries along the short hall way between your living room and kitchen. It was not hard to remember how you didn't jump when Sans had reached you and held to you.. how his eyes pleaded to Papyrus to do something.. anything to stop your crying and the sounds your soul was making that moment.

It had been a long, eventful day that Papyrus now kept locked away in his heart.. it was how they met you, and how they saved a new friend. Gazing down at your sleeping form now, his hand traced through your hair once more.. and a request that he swore he would only ask of you, found its way tumbling past his teeth. "Can you.. can you show me her soul?" Toriel was taken back by this request.. and normally would have refused such an invasion of one's privacy, but the reason behind such a question was clear as day. 

He needed to see the damage.

She hesitated for only a moment, silently praying that you would forgive them, and set to work drawing your soul out. What they found, shocked each monster to the core. Deep rivers of cracks traced through the heart floating just inches above your chest. Old scars were reopening, and the essence of self, the very material of what you were, was beginning to ooze from those cracks. This sent the skeleton into action... action that would later earn him a great deal of scolding and disbelief from those he held dear. The flash of orange brought Toriel out of her stunned stupor, and her voice cracked as she tried to protest, and cease Papyrus from his reckless actions. Held in his hands were now two souls. One human, fading in its hue.. a rich blue which spoke of integrity, she had seen human souls before.. well the souls of children, but unlike children souls, adult souls like yours, would shift in color.. humans were complex and not as easy to read as monsters. In his other hand, was the inverted white heart of a monster, surrounded with a rich orange glow of magic. "Papyrus! You can not do this.. she has to accept a bonding!" Toriel was aghast at the very thought that the skeleton would attempt something like that with someone who was unconscious and unable to react. The heat of her magic began to rise, but was soon squelched when Papyrus would speak up.. his gaze never leaving the delicate souls in his hands.

"Toriel.. you should know me better then that by now. I am not claiming her.. I am merely trying to share my magic with her, before we lose another human." Another human.. oh that one right there struck Toriel hard. She knew he was not speaking of one lost soul, but six. And so she would sit back, mouth firmly clamped shut and concern heavy upon her shoulders as she watched the display before her. Dancing sparkles of orange swirled about the monster soul, and reached out for the damaged human's own. The warm glow swirled about the heart, encasing it in slow precision, enveloping it till the original blue was buried. A bead of sweat threaten to spill into his eye socket as he strained his magic to slip into the cracks of your soul.. and to begin mending so much damage. It took time, more time then Papyrus had wanted to give.. he knew that time was a precious commodity that they could not afford at the moment. This had to be a matter that was not spoken of, around others.. at least not until he spoke to you first.

"LET ME IN! THE GREAT AND MIGHTY SANS NEEDS TO SEE HIS HUMAN FRI.." The room turned icy as Papyrus froze.. two souls in his hands, his eyes wide as he dared not to look back.. he could feel three sets of horrified eyes boring holes into his back. "Pa..Papyrus.. what are you doing?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay cliff hanger! Sorry if this chapter was a bit all over the place, and I know the chapters have been a bit heavy.. things will ease up soon, just gotta make our way through this part of the story and it will get better! Well, I hope it will seem better for those 
> 
> reading it, I can only promise that I am trying to reach a special point in this story soon!


	6. Chapter Six: Time After Time.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff, visions that might not be your own, a brief moment of intimacy..did that really happen? A very jealous Sans, and a bemused Toriel. Papyrus has made a bit mistake, and now has to deal with what may happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Music is my muse, how cliche does that sound? But it really is.. it is also difficult to write when listening to music at times. Today however, I must thank a youtube channel called Postmodern Jukebox and their rendition of 'Time After Time' it really sparked up my imagination. I would highly suggest listening to it after you finish reading this. Also, if the last chapter seemed very much off, it was something I normally do not write about.. I rarely use dreams in my work, but I hope it will all become clearer as the story progress. There will be a bit more work with dreams but soon we will be back on track.
> 
> Extra note: Ok! So.. as I was writing this out, things advanced rather quickly. There will be some confusion for a bit, as well as a small intimate moment and a bit of fluff.. as well as a very jealous Blueberry!

It was a welcoming warmth that filled your senses as your dreams were lost to this particular slumber. It was an empty sleep, allowing nothing to scar your memories as you recovered.. but it would not stay empty for very long. Something danced at the corners of your mind, and as the pain in your heart lessened, you began to catch hints of imagery that pulled at your soul... but these images were faded, as if you were looking on an old photograph, a photograph that flickered and was oh so slowly stitching itself into a reel of a movie in your mind.

'Pappy, look! I finished the puzzle!' a small, blurry blue creature held up something while a taller blur looked down on whatever it was holding. Words were garbled and indistinguishable, but the tone you could catch, was that of approval. The scene dashed away quickly, replaced with yet another fuzzy memory that did not seem one you could remember.. and another soon replaced it. This kept playing out before you, and each image was gradually becoming clearer.. and finally, you would see something that you knew, had not been witnessed by your own eyes previously.

The vision played out as if you were the one looking down to a very small Sans, the tiny skeleton looked up with one tooth missing from that endearing smile. "I losht ah toof!" Somewhere in your chest, a rumbling chuckle rolled up like waves, and your boney hands scooped up the darling before you. "Wonderful, though I am worried that may have been your sweet tooth, Sans." The small skeleton seemed aghast at that.. till it dawned on him. "Pappah! Not funnah!" And the small bundle of sweetness began to squirm in your arms. Holding tight to him, your laughter was infection and soon the blue bundle of joy was giggling.. it helped that you had been tickling him, but eh.. what else was a brother to do?

Brother? You puzzled, watching the image, finding yourself more then once, slipping into the memory, feeling the love and fondness for a tiny skeleton who was not really your brother.. and who called you Pappah.. that tiny slur due to the lost tooth and baby speech was very adorable.. but.. that could not be your own memories! How.. what... Just what the heck was going on?

Shaken from your current thoughts, your attention was back to the scene yet again.. you allowed yourself to be stolen into the memory.. the warm hugs of your little brother. The smiles, and the over bearing need to protect him nearly consumed you. Tears were streaming down your cheeks as you finally felt yourself being pulled away from the images of a past that was not your own. The scene was changing yet again.. yet something was different about it.. unlike the ones before, it was not faded and aged with years.. 

no something unnatural shifted around the edges of this memory.. and you could catch what appeared as shifting sands attempting to crumble the edging of the memory.. it seemed unstable..

"Papyrus.." a breathless whisper hissed against your ear, and your soul leapt at the lovely figure in your arms.. Warm lips against teeth, flesh to magic as the surprising kiss was returned. Warm, skin covered hands traveled over exposed bone.. tickling your ribs and causing your head to dip back in an animalistic growl. "..S..Sans will be awake soon.. you know what a jealous bones he can be.." your small protest was croaked out as this beautiful human tried to steal every thought from your mind with each motion she made.

Your breath caught in your throat as you pulled back from the surprisingly enticing memory.. who.. who was that human? That.. that was you! But.. you had never kissed your friend like that, you had never even dreamed of touching him so intimately.. This.. this had not happened! You felt your face flush brilliant pink and your hands were clasped over your mind.. was this really a memory? Or was this some cruel joke that your own mind had decided to play on you? Trying to shake your head, not wanting to see the image continue out further, you threw a hand up.. and the vision scattered like dust in the wind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Papyrus was officially in as deep of caca as one would expect him to be.. and in his stuttering and jittery motions as he nearly dropped the two souls, he half turned to face his very crimson faced brother. His mouth hung open.. no words could be found, what excuse could he give Sans? From where his brother stood, it seemed like he had just been caught red handed attempting something that would be considered one of the most heinous crimes among monster kind. Thank the stars that Toriel was quick to act.. she had scooped up the very enraged skeleton and ushered him back outside. The muffled shouting, from just beyond that front door, was surely to gather attention.. but at least the next time the skeleton brothers would speak.. at least then, hopefully, Sans would be calm enough and with a bit more understanding of just what he had seen and just what Papyrus had been doing.

Turning his gaze back to his task at hand, he froze once more. "Oh..oh shit.."

In the troubling distraction, he had not been paying attention, and the two souls had been brought close.. close enough to touch. His horror was palatable as he tried to pull his soul away from your own. Golden strings were attempting to meld the two together.. and it took all of his strength to break the strings before more damage could take place. "No.. no no no no.." he mumbled over and over.. he would not commit a sin like this.. he would not break your trust in him, there had been no records of accidental soul bonding in the past.. and *no one* would believe that this would be such a case... Sans would never forgive him, you would never forgive him.. he would never be able to forgive himself.

Finally the last string snapped.. and a deep sense of loss filled him.. it was a hefty price to pay, but his mistakes had caused there to be such a high price. He grimaced as he watched your soul absorb the small chunk of his own which had been left behind. He could only imagine what the consequences of this action would cause. But in spite of all of this, he could find a small smile, a small ray of light in the quagmire his rash decision had caused.. your soul was glowing again.. so bright it hurt to look upon. The deep valleys and cracks were closing, repairing so many years of damage. But he knew he would have to have a talk with you.. would you forgive him? Just what would happen because of this? Would.. would it possibly change you? Would it change how you thought of him? 

Yeah.. that was pretty certain..

Gazing down at his own soul once more, he sighed.. it would take time to heal up the damaged he had caused himself, and he was already so tired from expending so much magic to heal you. Seating your soul within your chest once more, he returned his own to where it belong, the room dimmed in the light that had grown as the two souls had been displayed and magic had done its work. His hand remained over his chest, missing that part of him that now resided within you. "H..human.." His whisper was so faint, there was no denying it now.. the pull that had always been there.. it would be stronger now.. but would it be true? Or would it just be his soul calling out to him? He would not be able to trust his emotions or feelings around you for awhile.. there was just too much uncertainty now.

Leaning down, he pressed his teeth against your forehead, it was a delicate moment.. one he already regretted as his soul thumped against his chest. The draw to be near you was so strong, trembling boney fingers traced against your cheek but were drawn back in surprise as he discovered the moist kiss of a tear which had seeped from your closed eyes. You.. you were crying? The pain that hit him was like a thunderbolt from the heavens.. straight through his chest, and Papyrus found himself on his knees, wheezing for breath.. it was crippling. The darkness was shading out his sight, and it seemed as slow motion as he fell, the sigh of you.. then the couch, and finally the pale blue carpet of the floor when he found himself laying on his side.. 

Sans was still fuming as Toriel tried to explain just what he had witnessed.. ok yes he understood, Papyrus was trying to save his human friend.. and the situation had been critical. But.. but why did he have to do THAT! A dusty blue crept over his features as he crossed his arms and huffed. "HE STILL SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME WHAT HE WAS PLANNING! SHE IS MY FRIEND TOO!" It took only a half minute for it to dawn on the three other monsters who stood there in silence... Sans.. was.. jealous? 

"S..Sans?" Undyne was doing her best to hold her giggles in as her hands were shaking before her mouth...a very much failed attempt to contain her growing tittering giggles. The mauve that danced over her shy face spoke volumes. "O..oh my s..stars Sans!" Alphys crooked a curious brow at her love before gazing down at the small skeleton.. and it finally sank in. "Oh...OH! Oh my.."And uproarious laughter broke from the monster as she nearly doubled over. Toriel shook her head, placed a hand on Sans' shoulder and knelt down to be eye level with him. "Sans.. am I to understand that.. you are upset because your brother was involved in something like that with your friend, and didn't ask you to help?"

Sans turned his face away, mumbled something which sounded a little much like a strangled curse under his breath before huffing his reply. "..I just.. I just want to help her.. like he does.. its not fair, not fair how he looks at her.. how she looks at him. Sure she will give me hugs, but I've seen it.. I've seen how they seem to hold on to each other just a little longer.. " Shame clouded his bright blue spheres of light in his eyes. "I just.. I just want her to care about me.. like that." Toriel found that same old sad smile she was so used to.. this was going to be difficult. Sans had never expressed any sort of interest like this in anyone before.. it could just be a misunderstanding on the small skeleton's behalf, but it most certainly sounded like a crush, or at least the start of one.. and now his hopes had been shattered when he had seen the soul he longed to be near, in such an exchange with his brothers.. someone he respected so much..

"Sans.." Toriel's words of comfort were lost however, as Sans shoved past her without another word. This was enough, there was no way he was going to let Papyrus just get away with stealing all of your attention, and while you were asleep no less! Sure he was trying to help you, but still.. he should have fetched Sans.. they both could have helped you. The door swung open with a slam, causing a vase to tumble from the small table near by, and thankfully not shatter as it landed upon the soft carpet below. But all the fire for fight left Sans as he found his brother on the floor.. this was not Papyrus' usual lazy habits.. it was clear the moment Sans walked in the room.

Magic seemed to vibrate through the air.. it hung thick, choking away the breath of those who now made their way within the small space. Something had gone horribly wrong. Sans rushed to his brother's side. Turning the tall skeleton to lay on his back, the frantic younger brother began to do what he could... he checked all over Papyrus, looking for some sort of sign for why his brother lay unresponsive on the floor. Nothing, there was nothing which would tell him just what had taken place. That is till finally a small groan rattled between the larger skeleton's teeth. "PAPYRUS! YOU NEARLY SCARED ME TO DUST!" Papyrus quickly held his hands up to his head and groaned again, he rolled to his side and curled himself up into as tight a ball as he could. "Sans!" he hissed "Not so loud.. your voice nearly shattered my skull." Well that made twice today that Sans had been met with unhappy people when he woke them.. but this time, his worry and concern was not from hurt.. but for whatever aliment effected his brother.

It was moments before anyone dared to speak again, each seemed to hold their breath.. concern held in every eye as Papyrus remained unmoving for a time. Eventually he made his way, in a manner which seemed to speak volumes of pain, to sit on the floor with his back against the couch. His skull dipped back as he sat there for a time, eyes closed while the drumming in his skull soon died down to a steady pitter which resembled that of rain on a tin roof. "P..Papyrus?" Undyne was the first to speak now, as Alphys kept a hand firmly clamped over Sans' mouth. She didn't want another explosion of noise to send their friend back down on the ground again.

"W..What happened?" Papyrus did not answer for a few moments, till finally he croaked out. "Tea.. honey.. please."

~~~~~~~

Three mugs of overly sweet tea later, Papyrus finally had found his voice, and began to retell just what had happened.. leaving out of course, the nearly accidental bonding that took place.. rather replacing it with the excuse of giving up too much magic. It did not explain the near hungover state they found him in, but no monster desired to push the matter further. Sans was still broiling with agitation.. and had insisted that he be allowed to help his human friend next time something like this came up. The orange that lit up the elder skeleton's face was quickly concealed within his hoodie. "Eh... we'll talk about it."

That was a no. And absolute and complete no.

Sans knew that, he had heard that 'we'll talk about it' before, It was a lazy way out of having to deal with something that Papyrus didn't want to deal with.. and it also quirked some more questions in his mind, but those would be held for another time. The moment of tension was lost when a faint moan rose up from the other room. Sans and Papyrus were nearly falling over each other as they hurried from their seats in the kitchen, leaving a puzzled Alphys behind, a smirking Undyne muttering 'I..I'd ship it..' and a very tired but amused Toriel seeping her tea. This was going to be a bit troubling, but an interesting adventure that the three would be in soon.. and it brought a slight smile to Toriel's muzzle. Perhaps this is what they needed.. Something for Papyrus to focus on, beyond 

worrying over his brother so much.. and in turn, allow Sans to grow up a bit mother without Papyrus playing mother hen over him. And in turn, this avenue would give Sans a new aspiration in his life.. now that the royal guard had been disbanded when the monsters had arrived upon the surface world, the happy go lucky skeleton had been floundering for a path in life. His pleasant attitude hid his distress well, but she as well as those closest to him, had seen it, had heard it when he spoke just a little too loud, the crack in his voice when he wished his brother a good day at work.

But that was not a matter to worry over at the moment, for now, Toriel leaned back in her seat and savored the warm tea in her mug. She would let the three of you hash out this situation before stepping in. It would be best if Sans and Papyrus could figure out their own hearts without her help. As for you, the curiously damaged human who had stirred all this up, well.. Toriel would just wait and see what would happen, there was no need to rush things at the moment.

You had finally begun to stir, after such a heavy slumber and strange series of dreams.. you had finally begun to claw your way back to reality. The moan which had whimpered past your lips as you shifted about on the couch, your balled up fists scrubbing at your eyes, refusing to open your eyes just yet.. your mind was swarming with what you had seen and your sleepy brain wasn't exactly sure what to make of it all just yet. But the slow process of awaken was brought to a screeching halt and you were jolted fully awake as a small bundle of excitable blue sprung from somewhere near back, knocking the breath from your lungs and your back against the couch once more.

This time it was a groan of protest that parted your lips as you peeked one eye open, and smiled in spite of yourself. That wonderful smile was plastered over the adorable skeleton's face, and his boney hands were clasped on either side of your own. He was rambling on and on, something about worrying about you sleeping so long... wait, just how long had you been asleep? You didn't really remember even falling back asleep after awakening that morning.. it was all kind of a blur. Your thoughts were disrupted as teeth clanked against your forehead in a swift, chaste kiss. Smiling, you swept your sweet friend up in your arms and nuzzled him affectionately.

As Sans attempted to hug the life out of you, and you giggled lightly, your gaze caught sight of Papyrus leaning against the archway which separated the kitchen and living room. There was a confusing smile painted over his facade.. the smile did not reach his eyes.. oh it was easy to see that he was relieved about something, but there was the unmistakable worry that you knew too well from looking at your own reflection so many times before. 'Pap?' No sound actually formed words, but he gave a small nod as you mouthed his name.

Crossing the short distance, he seemed to pause for a moment and his hand rested over a spot on his chest as he drew nearer to you.. did you just see.. did he blush? Ok that was strange. But you could not focus on your confusion for long, Sans was rambling again, though it kinda droned through one ear and then another. You were finding yourself lost to the drumming in your ears as Papyrus made his way closer to you.. and when he finally knelt by the couch, you knew the heat that had crept up your neck and cheeks was burning bright on your face. "I was worried.." his voice, did it sound.. different? A bit.. deeper.. a little.. hesitant as his hand cupped your cheek now. The simple touch sent a jolt of electricity between you.. and it seemed to have struck Papyrus as well, he sucked in a sharp breath. "I...I was worried.. you were going to sleep the day away." He failed at that half hearted grin. 

Tunnel vision is never fun, and it seemed to be creeping in over your sight as you stared up at your monster.. wait, your monster? When was Papyrus your monster? Where did that train of thought come from? Your gaze dipped for a moment before shifting back to his own once more.. was.. was he drawing nearer to you? Yes. Yes in fact he was. The world swam around you as you found yourself leaning up to meet him, lost to whatever trance you were under.. neither of you expected what would take place next to actually happen. Suddenly Papyrus was gone, and a surprised 'oouf!' came from him when he hit the floor again. Your vision was sudden sharp again as you found another face in front of you, and a different set of teeth pressed against your lips.. Sans.. Sans had just pushed his brother aside and kissed you?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok yes that chapter was filled with a bit of fluff and some well, moments. Please do not write off this story just yet guys.. I have more planned! There is more depth to this story then what it appears to have just yet! I do hope you are enjoying it. Please stay tuned, and I will try my best to give you a chapter a day for as long as I can!


	7. Chapter Seven: Talks and Tickles Fix A Lot Of Problems.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with jealous skeletons, you settle things the only way you know how to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok! This took a bit longer then I wanted it too.. kinda wrote myself into a corner for a moment, but well, I think I can make this chapter turn out pretty decent. The problem with writing this story, is that I never intended for it to go on this long, it was really just something to break the writer's block I had been dealing with, but then I really got into it! I seriously hope you guys are enjoying it and .. this maybe a little risky of me to ask, but if you would like to see something happen in this story, I am open to suggestions.. that is to say, I am not out of ideas, but I also feel that at times, I am losing grasp of the character designs and slipping out of the form for those characters. Anyway, sorry to ramble... Please check the end notes, I am happy to share some designs for a pet project of mine, if you are interested ^_^

What had followed that surprised kiss, was in the least to say, an eruption of chaos. Toriel had swooped in like a mother hen once she heard the brothers beginning to argue, while Alphys had locked Papyrus in a head lock and took him outside to cool his jets.. you had never seen such a fire in the eye sockets of your friend, as you had when that swift embrace had broken. Undyne and Toriel had taken it upon their selves to try to calm a very agitated Sans, leaving you behind on the couch, to replay the past few minutes through your head again and again.

Your sweet little blueberry, adorable cinnabun, the sweetest monster you had ever known and the last one you expected to act on rash .. jealousy? Had kissed you. Not only kissed you, but had pushed his brother away to do so. You had never witnessed them being in any sort of way, cruel to each other. But once you had pulled back from Sans, who had held an expression which shifted quickly between dreamy, embarrassed, and even a slight note of what you could only suspect to be a possessiveness you did not expect him to foster.. in that brief moment, Sans had been plucked right off your lap in a glow of orange and brought face to face with his brother.

It had not been pretty.. heated words, enraged stares and certain claims that you would most certainly dispute and discuss with them later, had flown between the pair. The more you thought back on it now, the more it began to sink in.. Sans had begun to act possessive of you.. but so had Papyrus, and it just struck you as wrong. Pushing yourself up from the couch, you were met with concerned and shocked silent stares from the pair of feminine monsters, and one of adoration from a much smaller one. "We.. need.. to.. talk." Each pause between your words, made Sans slink back a little more.. oh yes, you were angry.

"No!" You held up a finger before him when he started to speak, and in turn swept him up under one arm. To say you left the room in a tense and uneasy atmosphere was an understatement. "This can not end well." Toriel chewed on one of her claws watching you two walk away.. well one of you being carried and the other storming for the front door. "Come here!" You snapped as you flung the door open, mindful not to let it hit the wall, you were angry but not wanting to cause any actual damage. Papyrus' expression was that of a monster who would jump out of his skin if he had any. 

Just as with Toriel and Undyne, you didn't give Papyrus or Alphys a moment to respond before you had a certain orange hood in your free hand and jerked the taller skeleton back. "We are going to talk. Now." With that, you began your task of pulling a stumbling and befuddled Papyrus along as he had to try to walk backwards due to your hold on the hood of his hoodie. He shot a pleading glance to Alphys who just smirked in spite of herself. Up the stairs you huffed, ignoring the protests of the skeleton brothers, and hushing them any time they would attempt to snap at each other.

Knowing the pair well enough, you chose Sans' room for the needed discussion. To do so however, you had to set the small Skeleton down, and you gave him such a glare that spoke volumes if he tried to get out of this mess he had put himself into. The door swung open with easy.. and you were glad that you had decided to bring the pair here, Papyrus' room would have only added to the problems once Sans would begin to complain of the mess. You really did not need a distraction as you were a woman on a mission. 

Plucking Sans up once more, you deposited him, a little less gently then you meant to, on his bed and pushed the taller skeleton to sit next to him. Turning your back to them without a word, you crossed the small space back to the door.. shutting it and locking it firmly.

'Steady.. calm.. breath.' The short mantra echoed through your thoughts as you stood there, your hand against the wooden frame. It was best to approach this moment with a clear head, not anger or to let yourself work yourself up into another mess. It was a very uncomfortable silence for the brothers, and they had shared more then one blaming glare to each other till you finally turned about to face them. Sizing them up, accessing the situation.. you would have giggled to yourself if the moment had not been so heavy with tension. Sans looked like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, his small hands clasped before him, between his knees, and he was peaking up at you with what you suspected was a very well practiced look of someone trying to be too adorable to get in trouble. It was not going to work today.

"Knock it off, Sans."

Your huff caught him by surprise, and you mentally kicked yourself when you caught the sight of glistening blue tears welling up in the corners of his eye sockets.. crap. If he started to cry now, all the momentum to have this discussion would be lost. But thankfully, no matter how many he was, Papyrus was there to help now. "Hey.." Papyrus' voice cracked slightly as he lay a hand upon his brother's shoulder. "Don't do that, bro. It will be ok." This caused you to have to run a hand through your hair in frustration.. double crap, you had lost the moment and now it was going to be difficult to deal with this troubling problem now.

"Look.. Sans.. just.. no, please don't.. don't cry.. ah shit!" The more you spoke, the larger his sad puppy dog eyes became until he let out a large wail and blubbered as tears stained his bones, the globs of wet magic splashed down his cheeks and between his fingers as he brought his hands up to cover his eyes. Ok now you felt like hell, and weren't you supposed to be the one upset? Papyrus tried to console his brother, all anger now lost as he pulled Sans onto his lap and pat his back lovingly. He cast a pleading look to you, as Sans hiccuped between blubbering sentences, the words swallowed up by his croaked crying.

Shaking your head, you sighed.. the talk would have to wait. You made short work of crossing the small space between the three of you, knelt on the floor and threw your arms around your short friend. It would take several moments of ensuring Sans that everything would be ok, and a great deal of his tears soaking into your shirt and Papyrus' hoodie till it seemed the boney fluff ball had cried himself out. You had moved now, to sit next to Papyrus, your hand placed atop Sans' skull as you gave your best 'Its ok' smile. Once the tremors of his sobs had finally settled, and the air seemed to clear, it was then it seemed your voice wanted to return, but Papyrus was the first to speak up.

"We're... I'm sorry. What happened, it was wrong, I never should have done that.. I just, lost myself for a moment.." He wouldn't meet your gaze as he spoke, and the heart break in his voice was heart breaking. You let the silence hand in the air for a few moments before pulling the pair into a tight embrace, your arms firmly wrapped about the both of them.. well at least as well as you could have. Sans squeaked your name, and Papyrus seemed to freeze as you held on to them. "Your both a pair of knuckle heads.."

"I'd say we're more.. bone heads, actually."

You couldn't help but smirk, and Sans groaned at his brother. 

~~~~~~

Time seemed to crawl along, as the trio down stairs awaited anxiously for whatever outcome would come from all of this. Toriel had given up on chewing her claws, and had taken to making some tea while Undyne paced nervously. Alphys had stationed herself against the wall, glaring out the window to keep an eye on the still unsettled situation across the street. "H..how long have they been u.. up there?" Alphys shifted her attention to the adorable pacing monster who was attempting to wear a track into the carpet with her pacing. "Eh, about twenty minutes now.. I suspected from her reaction when they left, we would have heard some yelling by now." Alphys rolled her shoulder, pushed away from the wall and approached her companion. Sweeping the fish woman up into a warm hug. "Hey now, the small fry is going to blow a gasket if you walk a rut into his floor." She grinned as Undyne blanched, stuttered several apologies. Alphys laughed, placed a kiss upon the sweet monster's cheek and lured her away from her pacing to take a seat on the couch.. it was all going to work out, one way or another.

~~~~~

A bit of time had passed since Sans had calmed, Papyrus had made several truly awful puns, leaching a mix of laughs and groans from you as well as Sans. Finally, things had seemed to calm again. You had shifted Sans over to sit on your knees, and rested a hand on Pap's back, tracing light circles while your thoughts drifted off. You still needed to deal with why you had hauled the two of them up here in the first place. Your anger had fizzled out awhile ago, and now you found yourself in a tender moment you didn't really want to disturb. But you did need to face the elephant in the room.

"Guys.. we do need to talk."

Yep, that was exactly what they did not want to hear. Papyrus' spin stiffened beneath your hand, and Sans whimpered a bit. Patting the top of his skull and continuing the lazy circled around Pap's back, you would continue on, not allowing any further distractions to steer you away from the problem at hand.

"I'm not mad at you guys for whatever it was that lead to all of that downstairs." A pair of very confused stares met your eyes. "I'm angry.. because you two, the two closest brothers I know, fought like that.. and I am angry, because it seemed to me like you were fighting over me like I belonged to you two."

Oh if the moment had been right, you would have snapped a picture of the pair of them. Both dusty orange and blue in a shamed blush. Sans buried his head against your stomach and whined a little and Papyrus turned his head away, his shoulders hunched. 

Yep, they had acted like a pair of royal asses in the heat of the moment and now it was clear just why you had been so mad. You let that revelation hang in the air for awhile before you would speak up again. "Now.. would either of you wish to tell me just exactly what you were thinking? You two know you guys are important to me.. but, seriously! Were you about to kiss me, Pappy? And you Sans! You didn't even think did you?"

Alright so maybe a bit of anger was seeping back into your voice, that is until Sans seemed to find his own back bone, tilted his head up to match gaze with you, and his fingers coiled into the cloth of your shirt as if to hold on less he tumble from his perch on your lap. "I.. I just couldn't stand it anymore, you were about to kiss Pappy.. you were about to kiss my brother! And I was just so.. so.. so.." He seemed at a loss for words.

"Just so jealous?"

Papyrus had his elbows on his knees to support him as he slouched, one hand rose to rest atop his brother's skull and Sans gave a small nod. Papyrus had called it alright, even though it was clear enough to each of you, that jealous was just the word Sans had not wanted to say. You sighed again for what felt like the hundredth time that day and gave the emotional runt a quick hug. "And that is where you messed up, Sansy." He brightened a little at the nickname, but that ended quickly when he realized you had just called him on his behavior. 

"I really don't know what is happening here.. I wish I could tell you, but it kinda happened just so fast, that I am still rather stunned at it all.. but I can promise you this. You both are my friends." The cringe was powerful. "But no matter what happens, I promise you, we will find a way through all of this. " Taking their hands in your own, you gave a gentle squeeze. "That is something I can promise.. but I need you to promise something in return." A quirked bone brow from Papyrus and wide eyes from Sans, you could swear the color drained from his bones slightly with anticipation on what ever it was that you were wanting him to swear to do.

"You two will never fight like that again, especially not over me or any other pers..er.. soul. I will not stand for it, and I will have to put my foot down."

Sans couldn't help the grin that crept over his teeth and soon his surprisingly strong arms were flung about you in a tight hug. "I promise!" You smiled down at your sweet friend and then turned your attention to Papyrus, he still seemed like something was weighing heavy upon his shoulders, and there seemed to be some sort of guilt written over his face.. but cuffing your hand lightly beneath his jaw, you offered him the best smile you had in your arsenal. "Come on bud.. hey, Pappy, I have a question for you." He tilted his skull to the side, curious now at the mischievousness that danced over your face.. his breath caught at how your eyes sparked with life and your grin turned to a smirk. "Oh?" He couldn't stop his own grin.. what were you up to? Without thinking, he had plucked a soft pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his hoodie and was setting the stick between his teeth.

"How do you get a grumpy skeleton to lighten up?"

Sans groaned again. "Not you too.." And once again buried his head in your shirt in attempt to block out the obviously bad joke that was on its way. You didn't wait for Papy to answer. For in a moment you were upon him, Sans squished between the pair of you as your fingers began seeking out the best ticklish spot on Papyrus and soon Sans as well. "You tickle his funny bone!" The punchline was met with spastic giggles and an attempt to groan which you refused to permit as you continued your tickling assault. Papyrus laughed and cursed a bit as his unlit cigarette had been crushed between his teeth with his laughter, he sputtered a bit to get the shredded mess of tobacco and paper out of his mouth, oh that had been unfair!

What would soon follow, was an all out battle, to determine the victor of this war of tickling. You were pink and wheezing by the time it was all said and done. Trapped beneath the the bone brothers, you wedged Sans' knee out of your ribs and sighed happily. The whole talk could have gone much worse, but you felt that things would even out now. You still had to deal with that odd sensation that seemed to buzz in your chest when you would catch Papyrus giving to a certain glance now and then.. and you could swear that when your fingers had danced along a certain spot on his rips, that he had choked on his laughter.. yeah, you would have to deal with whatever was growing between the pair of you, and you would have to deal with how it would effect Sans.. but for now, you had your two best friends there, winded from play and happily cuddled up with them.. even if a certain someone's bones were beginning to dig against your stomach. "Papyrus.." you whined and shoved him. "I swear, you are all elbows and knees!"

This brought another bought of laughter. Hugging the pair again, your smile was genuine.. these two were something special alright.

End of Chapter Seven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was short! I will strive to do better from here on out, but I had to get past the hurdle I had set up. I do not want the characters to jump into a relationship too fast, and I do not want to just gloss over what Sans feels for the reader, as well as Papyrus' problem due to his mistake. So, yep.. we'll see where things go from here.
> 
> Now, as promised.. I have some things to share with you guys! I am currently working on an AU of my own, it is a very slow go, but I am very proud of it.. even if I gave it the worst possible name I could have thought of. I will include three links, each to my DA page, 
> 
> with the three character designs I have ready. I hope you will enjoy them, because once this story is finished, I will be releasing the first few chapters of RomanticTale.  
> http://penchan.deviantart.com/art/RomanticTale-Sans-666878253  
> http://penchan.deviantart.com/art/RomanticTale-Grillby-667926128  
> http://penchan.deviantart.com/art/RomanticTale-Papyrus-667930328
> 
> I will keep you updated on the progression if you guys are interested!


	8. Chapter Eight: No day and end perfectly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day was going so well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was worried I would not get a chapter done today! I took a day to rest and recoup due to catching the cold that has been going around. I also wanted to note here, thank you for all the kudos and comments and even a bookmark! I did not expect anyone to 
> 
> really like this fic, but it has been a wonderful experience to get back into writing again ^_^

Most of the day had been spent either in sleep, or dealing with the skelly brothers, allowing you very little time now to think on the whole problem that still awaited you across the street. In fact, it had been nice, even with the drama that had unfolded about midday, to take your mind off all of the mess your annoying sibling had caused everyone.. you still worried for your sister-in-law, you had wished to have her stay, but she had firmly informed you that she was indeed a grown woman and would be in contact with you. That had been hours ago now. Tapping the fork against your teeth, seated on the couch once more with a warm plate of spaghetti in front of you, Papyrus had insisted on cooking and promised Sans he could have taco Tuesday on a Wednesday.. the small skeleton relented a little to this, but was still an angry little bundle of bones sitting next to you.

It was just the three of you now, the others having to return to their own lives after spending a full day and night keeping a watch over you and any trouble that might arise.. and you were beginning to wonder if you should return home as well. The brothers had been wonderful for allowing you to crash on their couch thus far, and it was clear that they both cared deeply for you.. but this morning have been evident enough that staying under their roof was just going to cause a heap of problems. Problems you were not yet ready to deal with,"HUMAN" The fork clattered to your plate as Sans' voice startled you out of your dancing thoughts. "YOU WILL CHIP YOUR TEETH IF YOU KEEP DOING THAT!" Ah, how sweet. You smiled, placing a hand atop Sans' skull and gave him an affectionate pat. 

"I'm sorry sweetie, I was just lost in my own thoughts." Plucking up the fork once more, you made a show of scooping up a heap of food and devouring it without tapping your teeth again. One messy smile later, you had the small skeleton in a fit of giggles, pretending you did not know why he was laughing, what sauce on your chin? Tilting your head to one side and then the other, you couldn't keep the laughter out of your voice. "Why Sans, what ever do you mean? I think my face is absolutely cle.." You froze in your humored speech as another pale skull popped into your vision, and the warm swipe of a tongue graced your chin. "What the hell! Paps!" You squeaked, shoving the now nearly doubled over skeleton away, causing him to plop back to the other side of you. The dang fool was holding a boney hand over his mouth and snickering like a cartoon villain. "All clean now!" He managed to gasp through his laughter.

Tapping your fingers to your chin, you inspected the residue of orange left behind by the skeleton's magic. "Ew.. Papyrus you slimed me!" Grabbing a throw pillow, you swung the fluffy item towards your friend, thankful that Sans had been quick to act and collect your plate as it had begun to slip from your knees. Papyrus held both hands out before him, laughing all the more. "I give, I give!" He half shouted between your onslaught attack with the pillow. Sans just rolled his eyes and grinned watching the pair of you. It was nice, to have the souls he cared most for, playing and rough housing around, as if there had never been a problem to begin with. Granted, he had been a bit miffy when Pappy had dared to lick your chin, and berated himself for not thinking to do so first.. though it was a bit on the lewd side.. but still.. Sans shook his head, he was letting his thoughts travel somewhere he really didn't want to go right now. 

He was soon set with the task of collecting the rest of the dinner plates and removing them from the living room while the pair on the couch continued the mock fight. Papyrus once again trying to tickle and catch his prey while you did your best to squirm out of grasp and thwack him with the pillow several times. You could not remember when you last felt so carefree. It was as if the last several years of soul clenching darkness had been eased from your shoulders, and you found yourself once again enjoying the carefree play with one of your favorite skeletons.

Not to be left out for long, Sans was beginning to plot his own measure of attack.. when the thought hit him. The delightful little blueberry butterball looked absolutely demented as he laughed to himself, his grin turning wicked and his eye socket flared blue with anticipation. Setting swiftly to work, he fetched a pail from under the sink, the ice trays from the freeze and had the tap running as cold as it possibly could. Within moments he had an icy bucket of water, and now only needed to await the perfect moment. And that moment would arrive quickly with the way you two were horsing around. Falling from the couch, the pillow flung from your grasp, you wheezed for breath as Papyrus gloated with victory and continued his attack of tickling. Squealing and squirming, you called out for Sans to help you.. and that would be mistake number one of the evening.

"SPECIAL ATTACK! ICE WATER OF DETERMINATION!"

The little guy had some speed to him when he really wanted to get something done, and Papyrus could only look up in surprise and dawning horror as his brother sailed through the air, bucket in hand and doused the pair of you. The shock was enough to have you sputtering and shivering and caused Papyrus to tumble backwards onto the ground. He began to feign croaks and strangled cries, reaching for the ceiling as he lay on the floor. "No! My only weakness! Cold water! Sans.. you have murdered your only brother!" With that he dropped his hands by his side, and did the best example of a skeleton playing dead, that he could.. as well as anyone could, who was not trying to laugh insanely at his own poor acting. Sans smirked, not at all falling for his brother's antics. "MWEH HEH HEH! I AM VICTORIOUS, AND I SHALL NOW CLAIM THE HUMAN AS MY BRIDE!" Sans swept up to your side as you held your hands about your stomach, laughing your poor head off. 

"COME NOW, HUMAN! WE ARE OFF TO BE WED AT ONCE!" Trying his best however, Sans soon realized the mistake in his actions as he tried to lift a much larger individual then himself. This would be mistake number two, of the evening. You had never been carried bridal style before, and this moment diffidently would not count as the small skeleton scooped his arms under your knees and back. He toppled to his side, managed to right himself on his feet.. only to tumble backwards, causing you to squeal a screech as you in turn, were sent rolling over him, and on to the floor with a thud.

Papyrus peaked one eye open and smirked to himself. That would teach the short fry to try to steal his girl.. wait.. his? Pap inwardly groaned and dismissed that train of thought.. not now, not while everyone was still in a good mood. There was time to deal with all of that later. Pushing himself up on his elbows, he couldn't help but laugh. His orange hoodie was heavy with water, cold water at that.. his brother flailed on the ground, and looked the absolute image of the wounded hero. "You two.. are officially insane!" You laughed, and sighed as your breath finally began to even out. 

After the water was cleaned up, Papyrus discarded his wet hoodie and lounged on the couch without replacing the soaked item but to Sans' dismay and fussing, and the remains of dinner had been dealt with, the three of you had returned to the favored couch and a 

blissful silence had descended upon the room. Eventually though Sans would flick on the tv and drown out any attempt at returning to your thoughts as he watched the latest Mettaton reality show.. seriously, how many tv slots did that blasted robot have to fill anyway? 

Your previous concerns had soon dissipated as you found yourself snuggling up to the hoodie-less skeleton and hummed happily, it had been a better day then the previous, in fact now that you thought about it.. it was kind of strange, that you had heard nothing from your brother during the entire day.

Humming faintly to yourself and collecting your phone from your pocket, your smile fell and your features blanched as you saw the number of missed calls as well as the ridiculous number of unread messages left for you.. you must have left your phone on silent while you had slept at some point. Swallowing back the lump in your throat, you held the phone to ear to listen to the first of several messages. It only took a few moments before you were having to hold the phone away from your ear. Of course he had to go and ruin a 

perfectly good day, the shouting that rang out from the device in your hand, left your ears ringing. Each message was the same, ranting and raving on how you had failed any expectations that your parents had held for you, how sickening it was that you chose filth over family, and so on and so forth.. by the fifth message you were done and just begun deleting one after another.

You had failed to notice that now two sets of eyes were watching you with concern, and a boney arm had wrapped about your shoulders, pulling you closer. Shoulders trembling, you ran the back of your hand across your eyes and growled to yourself. This was getting beyond old. Just who were you trying to impress anyway? Your brother? Ha! His opinion mattered less to you then that of any other small minded human in this city. You had a belly full of all of this hate against those who were so much kinder, and were sick of the looks and sneers you had received in the past from those who had the gall to mock you and your friends when you would go to town.

Pushing away from the couch, you huffed a quick apology to the pair of bewildered and concerned skelly brothers. "I'll be right back, guys.. just.. just wait here for me please." And with that, you were out the door, phone clutched with a white knuckled grasp and your soul thumping with determination to settle this matter once and for all. Papyrus and Sans shared a look of worry and uncertainty and were soon on their feet, hoodie in hand and quickly pulled over Paps head, Sans straightened his blue scarf and took off after you as you made your way across the street.

"Ok asshole!" You called out as you neared your front door. "You want to talk? Then get out here and lets settle this matter now!"

What you failed to expect and for that matter dodge, was a hefty work boot being flung from the open door and smack right into your left shoulder. It shocked you a bit, but didn't really hurt and only made you angrier. Did he really just throw his shoe at you? 

Confrontation had never really been your strong suit, in fact you could only recall one other time you had told your brother exactly where to go, and you could remember well his harsh retort and how his words had stung you.. you blamed your sentimental heart for being weak when it came to family, but tonight you were done. Tonight was a night to cut binds, burn bridges, and throw the trash out of your life.

Papyrus and Sans were on either side of you, and you could feel the all too familiar tingle in the air as their magic gathered for a fight. Your burning gaze set on the dark, open door, waiting for your brother to do something.. anything.. but the fact that seconds passed to minutes without anything more then a single shoe being thrown.. began to trickle away your nerve and resolve to fight. Your brother had never been one for subtlety, brash action and angered filled ranting was his style, even to the reach of violence but never this.. This was unnerving and unlike your brother's normal pattern.. he had never been a man to change, so why now?

Stepping forward, that all too familiar cold fear began to creep into your bones and chilling your blood. "B..bro?" Your voice was cracked with concern, and the sense that just something was wrong hung in the air like a hefty stench you could taste. One step and another brought you nearer to that door, and the gnawing urgency to turn and run was growing steadily as you stepped closer.. Your breath froze in your throat as a ruby red pin prick shown out of the darkness, and a set of white claws swept out, grasping a handful of your shirt and jerked you within the dark confines of your house as you grave out a blood curling scream."Game is on, boys.." A raspy voice hissed just before the door would slam shut.

Papyrus and Sans were quick to act, small fists banging on the door while Papyrus had summoned his magic and warned his brother to step out of the way as he summoned his Gaster Blaster, giving Sans enough time to jump out of the way, the brilliant glow of orange soon washed through the air in a ray of destructive energy, splintering the door to fragments,

~~~~~

When you had been pulled into the dark house, and your back slammed against a wall.. the terror that raced through you was like claws and ice. Your back had connected with something sticky though, and it brought bile to your throat as you blocked out your guess at what was painted on your walls that now clung to your hair, clothes and skin. That glowing orb was centered in on you, and a maddening cackle rumbled like thunder. "W..Who are you?" You wished your voice had more conviction then a trembling squeak, and the cruel laughter rose in hysteria. "Tibia honest.. I don't really have the time to explain, but don't worry your head about it, kid.. a friend of mine has a very fun plan for you." You really didn't like the way the voice emphasized 'fun'.

But any protest to what or who had you at the moment was forgotten as something cold and sharp was tucked beneath your chin and a strong hand coiled fingers through your hair. "Walk.. That door won't last for lon.." The sudden blast finished off the sentence. "Shit, well, there goes plan A.. Bro, get her to the portal, seems we have some comPainy." Oh that was a horrible pun.. one that you would have chided the unseen figure for, had it not been for the sharp edge against your skin. The rattling of bones, and the unmistakable sounds of items being crunched as whatever it was neared.. what it might ever be, had to be large, due to the noise it made as it grew closer. In what could have been less then a minute but felt like an hour, the edge against your skin and you were swept up into what had to be the largest, coldest hand you had ever come in contact with.

the possible giant that had swept you up, said nothing, but you could catch the skin crawling scent of something foul in the air, warm air filled with the stench of decay hit you like a mac truck. Vertigo swirled your senses as you were swiftly lifted from the spot where you had been frozen in fear and you would have lost the contents of your stomach in seconds if you didn't have the over whelming fear of what may happen if you were to vomit on whatever it was that was caring you. Whatever fight you had carried with you across 

the street had been left on your front stoop when you had been pulled inside the house. A few squeaks escaped you , but words were lost while you found herself being carried further into the darkness.. and you could now catch the shifting glimpse of shadowy figures moving just near your door.. it had to be your friends, but who was it that they now had to deal with?

You wanted to warn them, that who ever it was.. whatever it was, had some sort of weapon on it, but you were swiftly reminded of your situation as the creature who held you, coiled its fingers firmly and caused the breath to steal from your lungs in a wheeze. With the squeeze, it reared its hand back and you were soon hurled through the air, your voice returned in an ear piercing screech. Shadows and shaded images of your home passed before your eyes in a brief second before a swirling ebony encased around you, and all sound was lost.

Papyrus and Sans had their own hands full at the moment, and your scream had fueled their need to get inside and find you, but in their way was the last thing they expect to find.. A creature who stood before them, caused Papyrus' non existent stomach to drop and knot up, it seemed to be a twisted version of his own brother.. madden eye sockets, one glowing red, his claw like fingers scratching at the empty eye socket while a crimsons tainted axe rested against the ground, firmly clasped in his free hand. He craned his skull to the side, causing Papyrus to cringe at the large crack in the skeleton's skull.

Poor Sans was facing a true horror, the image before him was like something out of a nightmare.. it was him, but an oh so wrong version of him.. it was caked in what had to be blood, wild and crazed and ready to fight. "P..Pappy?" Sans felt his bravo slipping away at this twisted doppelganger. "W..what is that?!"

"Horror.." The elder brother hissed. Just what was that monster doing here? And how did he get here anyway? "Where is she?" He called out as rage bubbled up in his soul, something felt off.. the pull against his soul had shifted some how.. the part of him that was now resting in your soul, he couldn't feel it anymore. 

End of chapter eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I am sorry if that all seemed a bit rushed. This chapter actually proved a bit difficult for me to write.. a great deal of distractions. And I hope you guys don't mind a bit of multiverse... Ah well, lets see how this plays out now!


	9. Chapter Nine: Keys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are falling into nothingness. Sans and Papyrus have to face off with an unusual threat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now that was a turn of events, no? We are treading into unfamiliar territory for me.. so please pardon as I stretch my imagination and delve into topics I not personally written about before. As as always I do hope this turns out well and you enjoy this chapter ^_^ Also.. guys I SUCK at puns! I am trying to include them in the stories, but I reaaallly suck at puns X_X!!

"Baby girl has gone to play..." The sing song voice was venom laced as the demented Sans shifted the axe from one hand to another, tipping his skull in turn with the act and causing cringing cracks to jolt from protesting bones and joints. "Just a HEADS up, I don't think she will be coming back any time soon!" Sans had to fight back the contents of his figurative stomach as , if on cue, the twisted version of himself had slipped his foot back into the shadows, and brought with a swift kick, the head of his favorite human's brother into view. He dipped to the side in a scrambling motion so the decapitated visage could not touch him as it sailed his direction. 

Papyrus was swift to act however, that act of barbarity had been but a means of distraction. The air crackled with thunder as his magic reflected his temperament. Phasing through the strings of time , he teleported next to his brother and vanished when that axe had rose, only to be planted firmly in dirt and not the bone brothers. "Tricky.." The red eyed version of Sans cackled with sadistic glee. He was indeed enjoying this new game, had it turned cat and mouse? Oh how fun. The ever present hunger edged at the very core of his magic, clouding his vision for a moment and earned a growl from him, soon all of this would be done.. and he would have enough meat to bring back home for not only his brother and himself but for the few monsters he could call friends these days.. "Pappppy.. come out and pllaayyy..." The crack in his dry voice caused his tone to hitch as he summoned his monstrous brother. Two against two would even the odds, and in his favor.

the dying sunlight was consumed in shadows as a looming figure forced his way through the narrow frame of the door way, causing the wood to splinter and give, chunks of wood and plaster left in the creatures wake as he made his way out into the open air and stood to full height. From where Papyrus had stood, once he teleported his brother to safety, atop the very house, he had to stead himself to keep from tumbling backwards. The house groaned in protest as its supports and foundation was strained with distress. He had never seen something like.. that. He was now staring at the back of a skull, dirty and grimey and much larger then it should be.. and by the height at which it stood sat upon a wide frame.. he could only guess what what the rest of this horrific character looked like.

Blank eye sockets inspected the scene, swiveling his head from side to side, scanning the area for threat.. and a thick collar radiating with the hums of magic clinked against vertebra about the creatures neck. "Brother.." a raspy voice rose from the beast, it was devoid of emotion, a hollow sound of the haunted. "Hungry.." it groaned. "All in good time, brother dear.." The much smaller, but fearsome skeleton hummed and affectionately patted a bit of bone just below the creature's patella. "First we have to deal with troublesome twigs, and then you can feast.. a promise is a promise after all." He honestly never thought to make a promise again, but this opportunity had been too rich to pass up, though he did hate what had to be done to Papyrus to get him to react accordingly.

The gruesome giant hummed in a music-less tone as he began to search.. find the twigs.. find the twigs..

~~~~~

Falling, that is all you knew for now. Whispers of something your ears could not catch, but you knew you were falling. Cold swept past you ,where are you? What was happening? Darkness had descending upon you, swallowing the light till you could not see your hand before your own face. The dark had always been unnerving, and this seemingly endless fall wanted to rise the bile up further into your throat, but you kept your mouth shut tight.. there would be no good in allowing your stomach to lurch and loose itself while you tumbled to heavens knows where.

Finally able to swallow back the bitterness that edged at the back of your tongue, your voice was located once more and you tried to call out, but the darkness consumed the sound as well. And so you continued your fall, soundless screams tearing your throat raw but were deafless to your ears, and it was maddening. This was wrong, so wrong.. where were you being stolen away to? What was this seemingly nothingness? You grasped out for anything that could help you.. you screamed for Papyrus, but of course no sound passed your lips. You wept for Sans, your sweet Sans.. and nothing came.

Time seemed as nothing here, you knew not how long you fell, your body was becoming accustomed to this near weightless sensation, near.. accept for the ever present pull on down to some sort of destination. By now, your mind suspected through the flittering patterns of thought that managed to escape pure terror. By now.. where ever you landed, surely you would be dead.. who could fall for so long, and live? Tears stung at your eyes, but the moisture lifted away, almost as if it floated away, as it slipped past your lashes. You wanted home.. you wanted your friends.. hell you even wanted your brother. Some sort of familiarity in all of this.

It was then, in the depths of desperation, that a new sound catch your ears. A tiny tinkle and chime of a bell? Your hand reached out for whatever it must have been, and you found to your surprise, that your hand had struck out through a web of what must have been strings. Your fall lurched to a halt and pulled painfully at your shoulder as you clung to the strings. Soon your other hand was clamoring and scraping in abandon to gain access to whatever you held to. Twin grasps gave more strength then a single hand tangled in the odd web. Something cold, metallic touched your skin and you nearly recoiled, but in turn decided to take hold of whatever it was.. something small bit into the skin of your palm.. it was metal, small and metal.

As you held to it, the strain you were placing upon the webbing caused a cacophony of tinks of metal to ring out.. and the strings to give way. You screamed again, and this time you caught just the faintest hint of your own voice, your terror was true as you tumbled once more. But now you were not alone as before. Small objects fell with you.. brushing against you, cold to the touch. You could not say what possessed you to act as you did, but as you fell, you made it your mission to collect as many of these small items as you could.

Light, you noticed it first. Light was coming your way, and your fall began to grow swift as whatever you were falling towards drew nearer. The darkness was ebbing away and you could see what you could only describe as a void of color.. white and bright all around. You could not tell where the ground would begin and the open space end as you passed beyond the shadows you had traversed in your decent. But you knew that the end was nearing, you would fall and splatter against the ground in a bone scattering mess.. where ever you were lost, would your Papyrus find you? Would Sans be left with no answers? How long would they mourn for you? Your heart lurched at these thoughts and new tears found passage past your lashes.. you didn't want to die! Not yet, not when you had found joy in a world of uncertainty and fear.. you had found happiness with two unlikely sources.

You cried out their names once more, and closed your eyes tightly, your fate was playing out now, you would end here and be forgotten. Or so you thought. For as you fell to your suspected doom, something lurched from the shadows and a sticky, foreign sensation wrapped about your waist, your shoulders, your legs and you found the fall slow and eventually stop. You tried to squirm but whatever had enveloped you, held firmly to you.. it was warm, strangely so, and felt like velvet jello wrapped about you? Inconsistent in texture and form, it was cocooning you and soon you felt your body easing down once more. Terror ran rich in your blood, but you could find no squeak nor scream now as your fall had shifted to that of an aided lumbering decent. Finally you would reach the ground.. a long stretch of nothing but bright white, and the inky substance about you began to recoil.

You were finally able to turn about and only for a brief moment catch sight of what had apparently assisted you. Tendrils as dark as the shadows above, were climbing back up, and from among the mass, you could catch an almost familiar visage of white, pin pricks of blue and orange looked upon you, the warbled features craned slightly to one side, and a broken smile cracked through the image. Your hand rose without a thought as you reached out for this nameless entity who had helped you. "Don't leave me.." a whisper of a plea, and the head shook sadly.

"This realm is no longer mine... seek out the one named Ink, and beware the Nightmares.."

The warning had been garbled and hard to understand, but you had captured some of it.. the name.. Ink.. And something about Nightmares? You shuddered and began to stand, and the sounds of metal tumbling down reminded you of what you had collected in your fall. Looking about you, a small cluster of odd, brass, copper, and silver keys lay at your feet. Kneeling, a sense of importance struck a cord in your soul. These were.. important, some how.

You collected all you could hold and puzzled on how to carry them, when you took inventory of your self. Your jeans and tee from before had been somehow replaced? Green gingham stood out against your almost abnormally pale skin.. you did not remember these colors nor your own skin being so pale. A curtain of white lay over your mid section and it only took moments to realize it was some sort of half apron supporting twin, large pockets. You would question all this later.. but for now, you had a place to set your collection of keys. Scooping up all you could, you found the metal items to be weightless within the confines of your pockets, and soon you had collected all of the keys. As you were kneeling, the green pattern of your skirts billowed about your legs, and you could feel the ruffles of several layers of fabric beneath what you could see... you were dressed in a strange, and very dated fashion.. and it only raised more questions..

Where the hell were you?

End chapter nine.


	10. Chapter Ten: Welcome, I do hope you enjoy your stay.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus and Sans have to deal with these horrific versions of their selves while trying to find you. You find a new 'friend' who reveals a few hints but raises new questions, and you learn something new about yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I really did not expect this story to keep going like this! I am stepping into unknown territory here, so if there is a universe you favor, let me know, and I will see what I can do, to include it. Welp.. here goes!

After collecting yourself and the odd assortment of keys, it was time to take stock of the situation. You had no idea where you were, how exactly you go here other then the fall.. if your friends were alright or not.. so many unanswered questions. Something burned intensely against your chest, and bringing your hand to the growing heat that felt as if it would sear your skin, a sharp gasp escaped you. The glowing image of a heart had pushed its way beyond where it had lay hidden beneath your clothes and skin.. yet you found no damage to your being nor clothing. Dancing before you, was a heart that glowed with so many colors.. but one seemed out of place. In the center of the heart a patch of white rested snugly and from it laced out ribbons of orange, following the patterns like cracks in a window pane. 

One hand tentatively rose, you tap it with your finger and take in a sudden breath as a jolt raced through the very core of your being. What was this? How was it connected to you? Whatever it was, if touching it sent such sensations through your body, then it had to be protected. Ever so carefully, you coaxed the heart to your chest, and held it so tenderly so not to send another jolt through you. Hands cupped over the heart, its light seeping through your fingers, you began to walk. This place was so..empty. Gradually your footfalls grew louder, and your breath hitched now and then from fear.. when this would happen, the heart in your hands would seem to shudder in response. This place was so unnerving, a void of nothingness.

"H..Hello?" 

You called out into the white open space of nothing. No reply would come. You were beginning to worry just how long you had been here, time was not a concept you could seem to grasp hold to anymore. Had it been minutes or hours? Shaking your head, your hair whipping back and forth before your eyes with the action. Strands stung tears from your eyes with this, but it was enough to clear your head for the moment.. strange, normally you would have collapsed by now. As your thoughts drifted to the past and how your anxiety and depression had ruled your life for so long, the heart thumped firmly in your hands, capturing your attention.. and an image flashed through your mind. Papyrus.. You needed to get home. Now.

Easing the heart down into the second pocket of your apron, the one devoid of keys, you gave it a small pat and shuddered.. reminding yourself to be more careful, and sat out in a swift pace. The hard soles of your shoes left the cascading melody of your steps behind you as you ran. You would find this Ink, or at least someone who could help you. The longer you ran, the less it seemed to matter. Your stamina did not seem to fail you, but in turn you found nothing more then the emptiness.. Turning about now and then, checking the space between you and where you hand fell.. the dark hole in the 'sky' being your only clue to the fact you actually had made some progress.

Indeed you were leaving that hole behind, so you must have been running to somewhere.. but nothing still appeared before you. It was frustrating! A growl broke from you, and it turned to a scream. "WHAT THE FUCK! COME ON!" That... would be a mistake that you would later chide yourself for. Impatience can be costly. The very air around you began to shiver and ... tremble? Dark lines raced all about, snaking through the empty alabaster and urging you to back up. Something indeed had answered your cry, but you were not certain you wanted to know just what you had invited to find you.

The cracks were drawing nearer to you as you edged away from them, but they would fall short, gathering and pooling into an inky black mire. You really did not want to step anywhere near that puddle. Even less so when something began to rise up from it. It was unlike anything you have seen before. The best word for it would be.. goopy. It seemed to ooze with an unknown dark substance, the same sort it had risen from. A pinprick of blue caught your attention, and it quickly dawned on you that what you were looking at was an eye.. and soon the full image had formed from the muck. It was.. a monster? A like your beloved Sans, but a bit taller.. and dark. It also radiated with malevolent intention.

Tendrils shifted behind this strange creature as its cruel smirk grew wider. "Well.. well.. what do we have here?" Oh that voice was not one you wanted to hear again, everything about it was just wrong. "You know what? It has been a long day, a really long and bad day, so if you could just point me towards the exit, I will be more then happy to leave?" Yeah you didn't even believe the levity of your tone. Your words wavered with fear and your voice had cracked at least twice. The creature before you began to.. laugh? "Bad day? Bad day?! Honey.. with me, everyday is a bad day.. And you not leaving any time soon.." A screech tore from you as one of those tendrils had shot out like a lightening bolt, coiling about your leg and lifting you up into the air, another had quickly captured one of your wrists, supporting you up.Squirming and cussing a great deal, you shot a mix of hate and fear down at the creature. "What the hell?! Let me go now!"

"How about.. no." He laughed once more, and the tendrils coiled about your wrist and ankle, tightening to the point you were choking back sobs and pleading to be let loose. The skin of your limbs which had been captured, had begin to darken and gain a purple hue of bruising, and this amused the creature to no end. "Pretty.. I always thought humans looked better this way. Tell me, human.. do you know why you are here?" You felt yourself being tipped upside down, jostled slightly and the keys had begun to rain down before you. 

The creature frowned slightly at this for a moment before turning his attention back to you, and did not allow a moment for you to answer. "Because my friends and I, have decided that your little world was too good.. too happy.. and so full of opportunity. You see, sweetie.. you were the key." He held one of the many keys before your eyes as he spoke. "To unlocking the door.. without you, despair will grow in just the right souls, and then we can slip in.. and claim it for ourselves."

Laughter rang out from the beast.. yeah beast was a good name for him. You shuddered as one of his dripping hands rose to cup against your cheek, and yet again you felt bile in your throat. "Tell me.. where did all that fear go? Hmm? It was so rich in you.. I was able to catch glimpses of your world from all that misery.. and then it was gone.. tell me, what changed?" A finger traced from your chin, to your cheek, and suddenly his hand was coiled about your throat, clamping down with such force that your breath was stilled, causing your lungs to burn for air as it was so suddenly stolen away. "Tell me, human." He snarled before unleashing his grasp on your throat and slung you away from him.. had it not been for the tendrils upon your limbs, you would have been flung to the floor. That must have been the final jostling the heart in your pocket had needed, for it tumbled free and shown brightly before you.

The reaction you received from this, was highly unexpected but truly a life saver. The touch of the light which the heart gave, caused the beast to hiss and recoil. His blue eye wide with pure malice as he shielded himself as best he could from the brilliance of that heart. "Your soul! How did this happen?!" Your soul? "So much work, undone so quickly.. no matter, we can fix this." One of his tendrils rose and reached out for the heart, but it seemed to strike out before it could be touched, and he howled in pain, dropping you and receding away from it. "AGH! Human.. I will have your soul, the nightmares have only begun"

with that, he slinked away as quickly appeared, leaving you bruised and with even more questions as well as a new fear.. whatever he had been, he had been terrifying. The heart gave off one more bright glow, sort of like putting in a last word before it returned to you and nestled against your chest. This time, it did not cause you to jump and shudder when it touched you.. and now you knew why. This was your soul, and it had been protecting you, some how. The monster was gone, and you collected your keys yet again.. mulling over what he had said.. stating that you were the key to your world? That left a cold sensation in your stomach.. Your fingers graced against the bright white patch in your soul and you whispered to yourself. "Papyrus.. I hope you are ok.. I will find my way home again."

~~~~~ 

Papyrus was not having a good day..err night. Facing off with a much larger version of himself, while dodging axe swings from a mockery of his brother, he would zip here and there between time and space to keep from being hit. It had taken a great deal of work but while on the roof, he had convinced Sans to descend down the back half of your house and into one of the windows.. to find you while he dealt with these two. Sans was worried for his brother, but he was equally worried for you. Creeping through the darken house, at first it looked normal, like nothing had happened at all.. but soon evidence of something horrible having taken place, began to appear.. splattered and smears on the wall, and he did his best not to scream when he began to find broken and gnawed on body parts.

He knew it had to be your brother, after all.. it had been his head that had been flung at Sans earlier. He shuddered and shoved past the gore, those two had really done a number on not only the human but your house as well, but thankfully and yet worrisome, he had not found any sight of you yet. Creeping down the stairs, stepping timidly around a mass that he was not going to attempt to guess what where it had belonged at one time, he made his way down stairs. At first it had been difficult to see, but with the glow of his eye as well as adjusting to the dark, Sans was making his way along rather well.. though often he wished he hadn't see a few things. 

Making his way past the steps, through your kitchen and to your living room, he stopped in his tracks.. There it was, some sort of swirling mass, but it was gradually taking shape. An archway, a door.. and steps. He circled around it, and it appeared the same on both sides, he had been about to call out to Papyrus about what he had found, when the door began to close. It slammed shut without much warning, and Sans' soul sank as a very audible click was heard from behind the door.. it had locked. Where ever you were, it was beyond a strange locked door.. and Sans didn't know how to deal with this.

Papyrus was growing tired, and knew that this could indeed be trouble. The larger version of himself however, lumbered on as it attempted to catch him. He would never be able to shake those empty, soulless eyes from his memory.. that is if he lived beyond this fight. 

The beastly Papyrus groaned and whined of hunger as it attacked, but for some reason, it never used magic. The other Sans , however, made up for this fact. "Don't worry bro.. smoked bones are on the menu tonight." The cruel Sans cackled madly as he swung yet again at Papyrus, and Pap could only dodge so much. The blade tore through one of his sleeves and sheared the humerus of his right arm. Marrow leaked from the wound and Papyrus hissed through his teeth, stumbling back to hold to his wounded arm. A bloodied bone had appeared behind his foot, causing Papyrus to land with a grunt as the pair drew nearer to him.

"Sorry Buddy.. but this is something we gotta do.. skeleton's gotta eat, and I can't let little Pappy here go hungry.. but don't worry, once the doors are open, things will be so much better.. at least for us anyway." The axe raised high, his grin and burning gaze psychotic as he would soon bring the killing blow. Papyrus closed his eyes and awaited death.. 'Papyrus.. ' your voice broke through his skull like a beacon. 'I will find my way home again' Grit and .. determination? burned in his soul and he lurched to the right as the axe made impact with the ground. You were alive.. and with that in mind, he couldn't give up and let these two kill him, nor his brother. There was still hope.

Sans appeared through the door as he saw the axe nearly strike his brother, and a new rage broiled through him. Summoning his own set of bones to attack, he created a barrier, a wall between the attacking monsters and Papyrus. The larger Papyrus craned his head to the side, staring at Sans with that empty gaze and muttered out in a guttural voice devoid of anything but hunger. "Hungry..." Sans quirked a boney brow.. hungry? Well, if big, dumb, and ugly was hungry.. then he knew just what to do. 

Papyrus grinned with his brother's assistance, and gave a nod.. more to himself then to Sans as he watched the smaller Sans dip back inside. Good, at least he had been able to create a distraction but not be caught up in the fight. Papyrus HP was dipping low, and he knew he was in trouble, but this new determination, something he was not used to, somehow it steeled his nerves and drove him on to do what had to be done. On his feet once more, he called forth the attacks he had been holding back.. until now, he had not wanted to expend too much magic.. but this was desperate.

The blasters appeared on either side of him, and the glow of orange built between twin open maws. This attack would have to do its job, if somehow these two survived it.. well, Papyrus would be royally screwed.

Sans had stumbled over his own feet as he hurried through your house, splattering through masses that he would think about later.. he had to make his way to your kitchen. Finally his feet hit the tiled floor, but the slick mess on his boots caused him to slide and crash onto the floor. Groaning, he crawled over to the fridge and flung it open. A wide grin tore across his skull.. yeah he knew you had lied all those times he brought you tacos, but you had always praised his work, and now, well for once lies had paid off. Grabbing as many plastic containers as he could, the small skeleton turned back for the scene outside.

This time he was a bit more careful in his mad dash, but a blaze of light from beyond the door hurried his steps. Paps must have had to use his blasters.. not good. Paps never really trained enough to use them very long, and with how this fight must have been taking a toil on him.. well Sans hurried his pace all the more. Finally reaching the door once more, he nearly screeched at what he found. Papyrus had stumbled down to his knees..marrow weeping from his arm, and the pair were nearing in on the worn skeleton.. but what more, something lay on the ground. A very large, and very broken collar. It sparked with an energy Sans had never seen before.. what should have been bright sparks of electricity, were in turn dark as night.. as the shadows in your house. He would have to worry about that later.

"HEY, YOU! THE GREAT AND MIGHTY SANS HEARD YOU SAY YOU WERE HUNGRY, WELL EAT THIS!" Sans had found his voice once more, and he hurled one of the containers of tacos at the large and frightening Papyrus.. which, something curious would then take place. Unlike how it had behaved before, this Papyrus turned his attention to Sans with now eyes full of curiosity and wonder.. as well as delight at the sight that was being hurled his way. The large skeleton dropped down on his knees and hands, his jaw dropped open, and caught the plastic container as if he were a pup being thrown a treat. A snap of those jaws and a happy hum rose from the strange skeleton. "SO GOOD, LITTLE BROTHER! THE GREAT AND MIGHTY PAPYRUS WOULD LIKE SOME MORE, PLEASE!" Sans was taken back, the strange Papyrus had spoke, actually spoke and he seemed to have a clear sort of intelligence that was not there before. 

The large skeleton beamed happily down at the little Sans, who in turn began to offer once container after another. This Papyrus was over joyed at the gifts of food, and turned to his own brother, swooping the dangerous Sans up in one arm and shoved a taco in his mouth. "LOOK, BROTHER! LITTLE BROTHER HAS FOOD, WE DO NOT NEED TO HUNT TODAY!" The other Sans sputtered and crunched the item in his mouth with reluctance, this well.. was unexpected. His gaze shifted to the broken collar on the ground and he groaned around the lumps of cold, half cooked meat and shell. "Well... there goes that plan. Ok kid..looks like you have won over Paps here." He shrugged and his former smirk turned to that of a half hearted grin.

Tilting his head slightly to gaze back at the wounded Papyrus, he made a motion with his hand as if he were firing a gun at the other. "No harm, no foul, eh pal? Sides.. whats a little humerus play between brothers." Papyrus.. was.. just.. stunned. That was a joke? This had to be a joke! One moment these two were dead set on making him well.. dead, and now they were happily.. be it a little too happily, eating the food his brother had located.. and wait a moment, had they called him and Sans brothers? He didn't have long to think on it however, as darkness claimed his vision and he would land face down on the lawn.

"Papyrus!" a voice cried out, it sounded like Sans.. but he was too tired to answer.

End of Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm not that great at writing gore or fight scenes as well as puns, but eh, I still hope you guys are enjoying this!


	11. Chapter Eleven: Uncertainty Enveloping My Mind Till I Can't Break Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight concluded. Horror and his brother take Sans and Paps along with them.. some of the questions are answered.. and you run into a creature you would soon wish never to have met. Also.. hope might be hot on your heels now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep the title is a lyric, guess it and you get a cookie! :P , I just have to say.. wow! You guys have really been great! So many kudos, bookmarks, and comments ^_^ really surprised, happily so! I will continue on, I honestly do not see the end of this fic in the near future.. so I can not say how many chapters are left to go, but we will see where this wild ride takes us!

One foot fall after another. After encountering that creature, you knew you had to find your way through this maze of nothingness. You had some answers but not enough to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, and it only left you deeper into confusion. The strange being who had saved you from the fall, had spoke of one to look for, and those to avoid.. you were certain now, that the creature you had faced must have been one of those Nightmares he spoke of.. well then, Ink must be somewhere about then. A broken sob nearly broke from you as something appeared in the distance. It was difficult to tell, a sort of triangle shape blurred in the distance.. but it was something, and so on you ran. The closer you would draw to the image, the more it began to flesh out before your eyes.. the triangle developing bit by bit as it became clearer to your eyes. Swings, a swing set.. and there was something seated upon one of the seats. 

The figure did not move, only sat with its head down, and you were growing close enough to distinguish some of the features this being held. A blue coat with a grey hood, so familiar, covered its head.. and white, boney hands clasped the chains of the swing set. Something was speckled upon its clothing, the dark black shorts were nearly grey as well as the socks and slippers upon it's feet.. those were coated in the dirty snow like substance. 'Turn around.. run..' a sharp, pleading sound raced through your ears and you drew still in your pace.. your chest rose and fell with great gulps of breath.. and your gasps for air soon captured the creature's attention.

You were taken back, this creature's features were of your beloved little Sans, but in the place of star bright blue, his dominate eye glowed with red and.. wisps of purple? Something about his smile, sent a shiver down your spin, and the way he would stare, the motions of his teeth rising and falling reminding you of how your friend often spoke.. but no sound drifted to your ears. He seemed to be speaking to something that was not there. 'Run!' the voice pleaded out once more, but you stood still.. it felt as if lead irons were clasped about your ankles. Rising from the swing, the odd Sans like being, tilted his head to one side and then the other, earning a sharp crack and pop with the motions.

"I wondered.. when you would get here, it was beginning to get a bit boney here.." Oh yep, that was a Sans.. clone? None of this made any sense, but what ever it was, it seemed too much like your Sans, only twisted.. and unsettling. Your feet decided now was a good time to begin listening to your brain again, and you were slowly taking one step back after another. Each step he took, you would take two.. and soon he had increased his pace as well.

"What's the matter kid? You don't want to have a mad time?"

Nope nope nope nope, so much nope. First class ticket on the nope train, to vacation on the Nope beach and have a Nope-tini. Nope!

Holding your hands up in front of you, palms out, you gave your best I am so not going to run now, smile. "Ah.. well you see.. its like this... I need to.. umm.." Your throat was growing dry as you tried to find an excuse to turn and run without causing this freak show to begin a charge after you.

"You have to what, kid?" That grin grew wider and the flare in his eye was brighter now.. you needed an out and you needed it now.

"I just remembered something, yep I left something really important way over there so...bye!" You really needed to work on your lies and excuses, but that was a matter for another time. Turning on your heels, you made a mad dash away, and knew full well that this frightening Sans was in hot pursuit after you. A bone caked in purple zipped past your head, and the sharpened end of it warned you well enough that this creature was not playing around at all. Serving, dipping low, and jolting to the side now and then, saved your neck more then once as you raced as fast as your feet could carry you.

But your escape would not be an easy one. Glancing back, that glowing eye was all too close to you, and you failed to notice the wall of bones which had tore through the ground to appear before you.. you failed this for only a moment, due to the fact that soon you had crashed right into them. Running head long into bones, hurts. Falling back, you were surprised when a pair of hands caught beneath your arms, and held you still. Dipped back, head tilted a bit to look up to the figure who had chased and captured you, your heart would have been thumped like an elephant stomping against your chest, had it not manifested itself as a soul that now rested in your pocket.

"You know, kid.. I was told to bring you back alive, but no one said anything about in one piece." The mad monster's cackle rose through the open nothingness, soon followed by your shrieek of fear and pain.

~~~~~~

Sans had his hands full, trying to wake his brother as the sounds of sirens began to wail in the distance, seems the neighbors had waited until the apparent danger had passed before daring to get near their phones to report the horrific scene outside. "Come on Pappy, I need you to wake up.. we gotta do something!" Sans was at a loss, and so was his usual tone. The larger Papyrus had finished his meal and had shared what little was left with the demented Sans.. now they stood, watching the pair of brothers that resided in this world. "WHAT SHOULD WE DO, BROTHER?" The large being quarried his sibling, the now rather grumpy Sans huffed and rolled his shoulder, resting the axe against it as he did so. "Collect'em. Can't stay here, boss gonna be pissed though, I suspect he will have a bone to pick with us." The larger skeleton groaned and rolled his eyes at that, shaking his head, his red tipped boney fingers reached out and scooped up a very surprised Sans and unconscious Papyrus.

"Come on, hunting humans is fun an' all.. but I really donut want to be here when the cops arrive."  
"SANS.."  
"Heh.. sorry bro.. "

The pair would return inside, brothers in tow as they made their way back to the strange door within. Sans held to his brother, watching with nervous, wide eye sockets but did his best not to show his fear.. he had to be brave now. Surely these two would not cause them anymore harm, he had fed them after all.. hadn't that been their problem all along? "W..Whats that?" His quieted voice croaked out, pointing one hand to the door that they drew near. The other Sans glanced over his shoulder and gave a dry laugh.

"Never seen a portal, kid? Well then.. this will be a new experience for ya.. Pap, ya got the key?"  
"RIGHT HERE, BROTHER."

The large Papyrus plucked a tiny key from within his scarf and held it out for his sibling. Taking the rust colored key in hand, Sans fit it to the lock on the door, and it swung open as if he had shoved it. He motioned for Papyrus to follow him, and thus, to bring the pair along. A sharp glow of white filled the space of the house and was soon shadowed out by the lumbering pair. Sans had to shield his eyes as he clung to his brother. Once they had passed the threshold, the door slammed behind them and to his horror, it faded swiftly.

"Eh.. don't fret kid, temporary portals are easy to summon.. its the real ones that you have to worry about, if they vanish. Means the boss has been having fun." The bloody Sans explained as he began to walk on along a pathway that was appearing with each step he toke. It was now that Sans took note of the red foot prints his lesser version was leaving in his path. Sans' poor stomach, had he had one, rolled and the sensation of disgust knotted in his system, coiling tight against his lower spine. He held tighter to his brother, not knowing where they were being carried to, nor why.

"W..Where are you taking us anyway?" The small Sans squeaked, shamed by the loss of nerve in his voice. Swearing to himself, that if he, Pappy, and you survived this.. he would double time his training and become strong enough to protect those he cared for, so deeply. His gaze flicked about swiftly as the pathway was not the only thing to begin to appear. A thudding sound flooded his skull, and he soon found the source of it.. each thud, announced the presence of a new door. And each new door held a plaque with something scrawled across it.. 

"Look kid.." The other Sans had come to a pause, his back to the trio behind him. "You did us a solid back there.. hell, you did my brother a huge one. Can't really tell you much, of what is going on.. but I can throw you a bone here. Your world is about to be devoured, there are a lot of hungry monsters back home, food has ran scare a long time ago... and we need a place to go, but since you helped us, we'll return the favor. Big Bones back there, is going to toss you two into one of the nicer universes available, if you are smart, you will stay there and forget about the girl."

A rage burned in Sans' soul as this version of him spoke of his world and you, how could he let something like that happen? How could he forget about you?! A small, but gradually growing in volume growl began to rise from the small Sans. "You just don't get it, do you? You never cared about anyone have you? She means more to my brother and me then.. then well a lot! And that world of ours, that you seem so hell bent on destroying.. its home! And we will get hom.." A sharp squeak broke from him, and stole away his rant as a door had been opened and Sans found himself and his brother being hurled through it.

"BROTHER.. I FEEL BAD ABOUT THIS, ARE YOU CERTAIN WE CAN'T HELP THEM?"  
Sans shook his head with a small sigh.  
"No, Paps.. we made a deal.. err.. I made a deal. You and I have to travel the good worlds, the ones with cracks in them.. find the key elements, and remove them, so the boss can do his work, and in exchange.. our friends won't end up starving to death.. we can finally stop hunting humans, once everyone is safe and settled. And maybe.." He gazed with remorse at the door that was now sealed shut before him. "Maybe we can make things right in time."

~~~~~~~

Your world was that of pain. Multiple of slices had been made upon your skin, decorating the pale flesh in crimson.. and the mad creature over you had taken delight in every scream until darkness had settled over your vision. Two fingers touched near the base of your neck and sought about till finding the slow thump of a pulse.  
"Heh.. scared myself for a moment.. might have gone over board a bit.."  
'You did, you always do.'  
"Yeah yeah.. I know, give it a rest."  
'Only when you do, I'm tired, Sans.'  
"I know Paps, but you know why we do this."  
'You mean, why you do this."  
"..slip of the tongue, bro."

Two dust and blood caked arms slipped beneath your unconscious form, and the troubled Sans began to make his way through the empty space, leaving a dripping red trail in his path. Twin, bright crimson eyes flashed behind him, taking in the scene and Sans gave a grunt at the sigh which echoed through his skull.  
'When will it be enough?'  
"When the kid isn't a problem anymore."  
'So why this one? She isn't even in our world.'  
"...They are always in the other worlds, Paps.. they only take on different faces and forms."  
'Still.. do we have to turn her over to that monster? Surely we could just leave her here.'  
"You know I can't do that, and don't call me Shirley"  
'Ssssaaannnsss...'

Sans gave a half chuckle, he had always enjoyed annoying Paps with his jokes, even in death it hadn't changed that fact. Stealing a glance down to your bloodied face, a pang of almost guilt struck him.. but guilt was something he had given up a long time ago. There was no place in his dark soul for guilt anymore. He had a job to do, and in return for it.. he could gain more Lv and deal with that kid for good.

~~~~~

Sharp, bright eyes had been following the path of red. Someone was hurt and in need. He had heard the call of a soul losing it's hope, and it had pulled through him like a siren's call. A yellow ord surrounded the figure cloaked in a similar hue and shades of blue, his brow furrowed with growing concern. This was unsettling, someone had been hurt in the void, the place between realms. Things like that were not suppose to happen here, nothing was suppose to happen here! Following the path, he took in a sharp breath and covered his mouth with his hands, a human was being carried by a Sans, and not a nice one at that.

A quick blip out of existence, and shift back into this strange reality, Dream had found his way to his friend and companion. "Ink!" His voice was filled with worry and it startled the artistic being out of his own thoughts as he sat over a stack of paper, large brush in hand, he had been puzzling over a disturbance among the universes.. and could not pinpoint it. His thoughts had been interrupted however, by a very concerned Dream, who now had hold of his hand and was pulling him to his feet. "We gotta go, a human is in danger.. Dusty has captured one and I think he hurt it!"

Ink's frown was deep and troubling at this.. how had Dusty escaped his own timeline? None of the anomalies that were taking place, made any sense. "Lead the way, Dream." And with that, time and space rippled once more, taking the two with the pull of magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh, so sorry this seemed lacking! I am really trying here.. but also really tired! This whole multiverse thing is difficult! Also, I could not find a nickname for Dusttale Sans, so.. yeah I called him Dusty, figured it fit.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Dance Like Noone Is Watching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Papyrus are now somewhere new.. things don't seem right, who are these beings who call him 'Blueberry' and Papyrus 'Honey'? Who is this kid?
> 
> Ink and Dream have come to your rescue.. and Dusty takes advantage of an opportunity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ..Don't you just hate it when a good plot idea hits you right before you go to sleep, and ends up keeping you up half the night? I should have just worked on this last night, but sleep seemed like a really grand idea at the time. If things play out in the story as I have planned, I might have a series starting up once I finish this one... actually, if given enough time, I might be able to start up a small series which won't effect this main time line for a bit. Anyway, once again, I do hope you are enjoying it. I do have a plan in mind for some certain AUs out there in this story, but if you would like to see a certain one pop up, please feel free to suggest it! If it won't fit in this one anytime soon, I could fit it into a side story. Also, Frisk shows up in this chapter, I will use terms like 'Them, they, their' but if I slip up and use a feminine pronoun or such, please   
>  forgive.. I see Frisk as female, and it tends to happen when I am writing.

The snow was crisp, cold, and clean when Sans and his brother landed with a thud in a loose pile of the cold, wet stuff. Shivering, but not from the cold, Sans held his sleeping and injured brother to him. His soul felt like a race horse thundering against his chest. The door which they had been flung through, still remained behind him, but had shut.. and once Sans had a chance to make sure Papyrus was resting as comfortably as he could on the ground, Sans had raced over to the door and was beating his small fists against it, pleading for it to open again. Large blue tears spilled down from his eye sockets and hiccup sobs rose from him.

The door would not budge.

Resting his head against it, his soul felt heavy as he sank to his knees, his gloved fingers scrapping down the wooden surface of the door as he descended to his knees, the worries were beginning to swarm his thoughts, everything was going wrong so fast.. just earlier that day, he had been playing so happily with you and Papyrus, he had laughed and even kissed you, and you had been gentle in how you reacted, you hadn't taken your friendship away.. but drew Papyrus and him close to you once more. It was true, you had not given your love to him, as he had hoped, but you had stayed a friend.. and now, where were you? Where was he and Paps for that matter?

Turning his attention to his brother, he crawled through the snow and began to worry for the injured skeleton. "P..Pappy? I need you to wake up.. come on.. wake up now.." He gently shook his brother, and his attention was brought to the grievous wound at his brother's arm. The marrow was sluggish and thick as it wept from the wound. How had he missed this? Papyrus had been wounded, he knew this, but in all of the confusion, he had failed to help him.. Removing his blue scarf, he secured it about the thin length of bone, hugged his brother to him and began to weep in earnest.. he had never felt this lost nor this alone.

 

It had been a beautiful morning in Snowdin, the sky was bright, the birds were singing, and monsters around him were having a wonderful day. His sneakers crunched in the snow as he left the warm little valley of love and light behind him. Something called to his soul today, and he wanted to let it flow through him like music. He knew of just the place to let it all go free through him. The tune began faintly at first, a wordless melody that was as sweet as honey but as intoxicating as an aged wine. It sparked up the magic in his bones and turned his steps to sways and quick hops now and then, side steps and the occasional slide of his foot through the snow in an arch.

Soon he was at the clearing, certain his brother would not be about for a time, nor any other monster, he ensured the blue hoodie was about his skull and allowed the unheard melody to take him. The only sound, to the outside ear, would be quick breaths, short grunts now and then, and the way the snow crunched with impact with his motions. Flurries rose up before his eyes as he danced away the sensations in his bones, it was beautiful.. to let the moment go and forget the world around him.. to dance and sway without a thought or concern.

Soon he allowed the light of his eyes to close as he was swept up in the moment, his body knew the motions without too much thought, and it was going to be a wonderful day.. however his peace was not to last, as a hand was placed in his suddenly. Eyes wide, frozen in place, his soul eased when he realized just what had touched his out stretched hand. A child in a small pink tutu gazed up to him in a glorious smile, they gave a small bow of their head and he returned it. 

Soon she moved in time with him, twirling to the tune only they could hear, souls a glow with joy as they moved. He would lift the child high, faded ballet slippers swiftly hurling snow about as they made a motion as if to leap when lifted. Sans' soul soared with delight as he danced with one of the few he would permit to watch him do so, and even fewer who he would dance with, unless it was to protect certain ones. He held them high above his head and a sigh broke from him.. he was so proud of this kid. They had come a long way from the darker days, days long should be forgotten.

As if on cue , to strike worry into his moment of bliss, a small sound broke out from the near by woods, and he nearly dropped Frisk. "Behind me, Kid." His motions were swift and decisive now. The jovial dance replaced with a stance ready to fight.. that is until his small companion moved out from behind him. They tilted their head back to him, said not a word but pointed out towards the source of the sound, and cupped their other hand to their ear.. Sans got the idea and listened... the sound, was crying.

Frisk sat out in a swift pace, small ballet shoes moving through the snow with a grace only they could carry. The cold did not seem to bother the child at all, in fact they seemed to embrace the atmosphere of Snowdin as if it were as it had always been, just to Papyrus' disapproval and demanding that Frisk add layers to their clothing to protect against the chill. Frisk smiled in spite of their-selves as they thought back to sweet Papyrus, the first to dance with them.. well the first once outside of the doors of the ruins.. they missed mother Toriel so, and maybe soon she would answer that phone she had given them?

Pushing those thoughts aside, the child soon found the source of the sounds, and was taken back.. two skeletons in visage alike to the two they treasured so dearly and yet so different. A smaller version of their Sans, in odd garb, knelt and huddled over a prone version of Papyrus. Clearly they were not well, the lanky version showed signs of having faced some sort of fight or something, and it was clear to see the damage the skeleton had taken.

Magic twinged and tingled in the air as Sans appeared next to them. They shared a glance, and unspoken agreement and he vanished again, to go fetch his brother and a kit. It was not the first time outsiders had found their way into this realm, but from the looks of the two, they could offer little harm to Frisk or Papyrus.. in fact it appeared that they might not be among the few versions of the brothers, which were to be feared.. hadn't he not seen that little Blueberry before? Ah yes! Sans snapped his fingers, and a wide grin spread across his skull. Blueberry! That was the Sans' name, and the other must have been named.. what was it.. oh yes! Honey! That was what the others had called him. Man, it had really been awhile..

"Papyrus, seems we have a sticky situation.. grab the first aid kit, and come on, we have visitors." Sans had appeared beside his brother.. just as he did too often and caused the younger yet taller skeleton to jump. A few harsh but well meaning words of warning, not to do that, and the pair were off. Retrieving the kit from home, they made quick use of Sans' gift of teleportation to find the pair once more.

While their companions had been away, Frisk had slowly approached the pair in the snow, their steps light and careful but not silent. Blue was quickly pulled from his morose thoughts, his eye sockets wide and he protectively shielded his brother from the child that drew near.. This kid looked so familiar, and yet something was making his memory hazy.. who was this kid? Could he trust this tutu totting child? Ready to attack but still in case he should act without reason, he watched the child like a caged animal.

Frisk was sadden by the way their friend had reacted, as if Blue did not remember them? Something was not right about this at all.. nearing just enough, so that Frisk's tiny voice could be heard.. a voice that only rose up when most needed, they spoke in broken speech but yet one that attempted to comfort and reassure.  
"B..Blueberry.. it's me, Frisk.. what happened? Is Honey ok? How did you get here?"

The concern in the child's voice was heavy, and Blue could sense no malcontent from this one who called their-self Frisk.. Frisk.. that name tingled at the back of his skull, as well as what she had called him and Papyrus.. Blueberry? Where had he heard that name before? He did not have long to worry on it, as the air waved in warning to the trained eye, that someone would soon appear. Sans and Papyrus had arrived, kit in hand, and with few words spoken, Blue found himself pulled away from his brother.. a great deal of protesting, and Papyrus set to work, accessing the situation with Honey. "He has been gravely injured.. I am surprised his HP has lasted so long, something seems to be tethering him to hold on.. I will do what I can, brothers.."

Blue was now clinging to Frisk as if his life depended upon it, and the other version of him had appeared to kneel down in front of him.. bitterly he wondered if any other Sans existed out there and were they all taller then him? Not fair..

"Blue, what happened?" This version of Sans pushed back his hoodie, his own features filled with worry as his hands clasped Blue's shoulders. "We need to know what happened, how did Honey get so hurt?" Sans did not like the lost look in Blue's eyes.. something was indeed off, he had never seen this little version of himself look so lost, so distrusting, so afraid like this.. Was Error at play again? He shuddered, he did not even want to think of that twisted Sans, less somehow that being be summoned.

"I..I..." Blue stumbled to find his words, the tears were beginning to fall and soon the story tumbled from his lips in hiccuped sobs, broken hearted wails that stole his voice now and then, and struck fear and concern into the souls that listened to his tale.

How had Blue and Honey forgotten them? Forgotten everything? And why had the Horror brothers attacked? Too many unspoken and unanswered questions, but it was clear to Sans, someone special had been stolen away from them, and their world was in danger.. "I promise you, Blue.. and you know we Sans don't make promises easily, I promise you.. we will find your friend, your brother will be ok.. and we will stop those who had decided to upset the balance of your world." And we will end whatever it is, that has clouded your memory.. The last bit was left unspoken, hanging in the air.. he would find an answer why Blue no longer remembered any of the adventures they had shared.

~~~~~

Dust now found his hands full. Cradling you against his shoulder, he was fending off attacks from two sources and knew that his magic and energy would drain swiftly.. he had already spent a bit of it in capturing and playing with you, and he needed a great deal more to open the portal needed to escape with you, but that be damned-able Dream and Ink were hell bent on not letting his perfect day go as planned. A bright flare of yellow magic struck near his feet, he had just missed being struck by it. Sweat prickled his brow, he had been playing this cat and mouse for too long, and he never liked being the mouse. 

Ink had been no joy to see either, that brush brought more trouble then Dust wanted to deal with.. and he had a bone to pick with Ink as it was, Ink had been furious at how Dust had treated his own universe, ignoring the reasons why, and Dusty had no delight in seeing someone he now deemed a rival against his cause. A bone shield appeared between him and that brush as Ink tried to land another attack, but he could not stop the flares of magic from Dream and knew that he was being backed into a corner.. well so to speak.

Energy waning, Dust quickly began to weigh his options.. drop you, escape , and pretend he never saw you and risk not catching his boss' attention.. or fight a clearly out matched fight. You were weighing him down, and he could not keep this up for much longer.

"You know.." he huffed for breath. His ribs ached with the strain for air from the exertion. "I would love to stay, and trade travel stories.. but I have to jet." He took a chance at an open attack for the pair, raised the arm which held you.. and hurled you skyward. His plan worked, these soft types would always go for those who were injured, rather then deal with the problem at hand. "INK!" Dream cried out and the pair were now racing to catch you as you began to fall.

Dusty made quick his escape through a portal which he had called up, locking the door behind him.. he would deal with you later, and perhaps you would be well enough to play with again.. this brought his grin back to him once more.. oh you had been so much fun to play with..

End of Chapter Twelve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was so short! I am having a very distracted day and could not spare any more time at the moment, I will try to get back to this story tonight if things permit and expand further in the next chapter.


	13. Chapter Thirteen The Void Has Been A Busy Place Today.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are beginning to take shape.. Why do the brothers have faulty memories? Just what is going on? Horror may have made a deadly mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh, today has not been a good day to write, but its what I really feel driven to do. I hope my thoughts can stay on path while I try to type this out. Out of frustration, I attempted to do a side series for this, but ended up scrapping it, too many spoilers... yep I finally have a plan for certain things, and its driving me insane!

'The void, as some know it, is actually split into sections.. it is not truly empty.. mostly, vastly so, but there are places of interest within the void, if one knows how to reach them. A human could spend a life time, traveling through the void and never find a thing save for the emptiness of the void. However, if one does know the way, then the void can be a place of rich experience and the means to traverse the realms. I have witnessed several souls make use of the void, stepping through for brief moments, only to return to where they came from.. I have watched over those who slip into the void when their souls dare to fall beyond repair, some I could not save. I have also discovered a new anomaly.. but I can not be certain for now, I must merely watch and wait.. if I am correct however, there is so much study to be done.'

The visage of white and ebony shifted through the dancing code of the void, watching over the scene which had played out below only moments ago. Studious eyes filled with curiosity beheld the frantic pair and the strange being who had fallen into the void some time ago.. he laughed to himself.. time.. what a useless concept here, and yet how else would one explain things? A wave of a ghostly hand of bone, and the code shimmered before his tired eyes, the trails and wisps of energy was marked all along the void, mix of energy signatures.. he had followed each curiously, but had not come to a conclusion as of yet.. this one would deserve more study, but this must be done undetected.. the entire situation was yet too delicate.. this was a realm beyond the resets, actions here would be final and complete.

And he rather liked this strange creature.

Ink was scrambling now, catching the fallen visitor in his arms, worry etched over his features as he studied each line and mark left upon her.. none of them seemed to deep nor vital, yet there were so many.. Dusty had indeed enjoyed his time with this one, and Ink was now left to worry if he and Dream had arrived too late to be of any help. "Ink..." Dream's gloved hand rested upon his shoulder, causing him to raise his skull and give a nod. Now was not the time to mourn, now was a time to act.. and to do so, he knew just where they needed to be.

"Feel up to a trip, my friend?" Dream gave an enthusiastic nod for a reply, and soon the bubble of yellow had unfurled about them, enclosing the trio. The hope that was blossoming within Ink fueled on Dream's own, they could save this one. They both may have failed in the past, so many times.. but they could save at least one soul today. The magic that encased the trio, wavered and shimmered as they swiftly traversed the empty space about them.. the glare of white and soon scattered imagery blurred around them, unknowing to them.. an unstable form cracked a smile and gave a nod of approval.. things were finally taking a turn for the better.. best to keep a watch on this situation however, and so he shifted away once more, scattered among the void to collect elsewhere.

~~~

Sans flopped against his sentry station in boredom. The kid was late, and nothing was on track. He yawned sleepily, well.. no harm in a nap, Papyrus would be upset if he caught him.. but Paps was easy to distract when he would get in a tissy. His eyes had just started to close when a sharp glare of light blared before his eyes and he stumbled back into the snow. Several curses rose up from the shocked skeleton, till he finally set his sights on a rather childish but pleasant version of himself, peering over the edge of his station.

"..Dream, how many times have I asked you just to Pop in with out the grand entrance? I get that you are a Bubbly sort of monster but..." Sans couldn't stop the grin that always rose with his sore attempts at puns, but his humor was short lived when he was swiftly pulled to his feet by the embodiment of hopes and dreams. It did not take Sans long to realize why his friends had decided to visit him. "I gotcha.. come on.." With that, a hand placed upon Ink's shoulder, Dream holding to the other, and the visitor in Ink's grasp, Sans made good use of one of his shortcuts and soon the growing party had arrived at Alphy's laboratory.

"S..S..Sans? Is th.. that you?" The nervous yellow reptilian monster scuttled her way through her labs as she felt the twinge of magic in the air. She had been watching the displays and monitors as always, and had nearly dropped her cup O' noodles when the surprising trio had first appeared. Taking stock of the situation, she had begun to prepare what she would need, to assist the injured human.. of course she would need to do a full check over the human to make sure of all the poor soul had suffered and know how to treat her. Running her mental check list over again, she had plucked a canister from one of the many shelves as she greeted Sans and his companions. 

A quick explanation over what had taken place, Ink soon handed over his wounded charge by laying the human upon an examination table. Reluctant to leave her, Ink and Dream were soon shooed out by Sans, who with a few weak puns, had insisted everything would be well. Once the three monsters stood outside of swinging double doors, Sans' jovial tone dropped and the gravity of the situation spoke volumes in his tone.

"...Ok, start talking."

 

~~~~

 

Honey gave a low groan, his world consisted of two things. Thirst, and pain. His arm throbbed with agony, and something tight was bound about it, and by the pulse of pain in his skull, he knew that if he opened his eyes right now, he would regret it. But sleep was not somewhere he could return to just yet, flashes of memories were flooding back into his mind, and he knew he had to be on his feet now. Sitting up, his bones rattled and he fell back, vertigo truly is a bitch. 'Ok.. lets try that again..' Pushing himself up slowly, his wounded arm gave out from under him and a yelp escaped him, but he didn't fall back this time. A pair of strong arms were beneath his own, mindful of his wound, the support he was being given, aided him in shifting his posture until he was seated. Something cold lay beneath him.. a table? Another groan escaped him, but this time it was one of frustration.. peaking his eyes open, he first reaction was of course of pain.. the light was intense, and shot a searing javelin of fire through his eyes. Shielding his eye sockets with his good hand, he grumbled and took stock of the situation he now found himself in.

Asleep in a chair near by, his brother was leaning against.. himself? Honey squinted in confusion.. well it was not the first time today he had seen another Sans, this one seemed maybe a little older, a little taller and a little more comfortable in his fashion choice.. so that would mean, the one who helped him was... 

"AH, BROTHER! I AM GRATEFUL TO FIND YOU WELL AND AWAKE AGAIN!"

He could throttal this version of himself, instead he clamped both hands over his skull, earning a yelp from him as his injury protested at the sudden movement. This woke the sleeping brothers, who were at once by his side. "Easy there.." The new Sans's tone was a poor excuse of soothing due to the ache in his skull. "Paps, inside voice only, kay?"

a mumbled apology rose up from the Papyrus behind him, and Honey could only grunt begrudgingly in response. "Here, bro.. this will help. Not the first time I have had to fetch this stuff for you, after all." This caused the wounded Papyrus to quirk a brow and accept the offered bear shaped bottle of honey that had been offered to him.. he had never seen this version of his brother and himself before.. 

"Uh.." Papyrus smacked the sweet substance while eyeing the two curiously. "How do you know me..er.. us?" He motioned towards his little brother as he spoke, his gaze set firmly on the two doppelgangers. This brought a quizzical look between the brothers, the taller one shrugged with confusion. "You don't remember us, Honey?"

Papyrus winced at the name. "I am not your honey.. don't call me that.." a bit ironic due to the fact that he was downing the sweet treat he was named for, as if it were a life line, in between each sentence.. it was helping to clear his mind after all.

"Oh boy.. this is going to take awhile." The hoodied Sans shoved his hands in his pockets and took up his seat once more.. they now had even more to discuss, such as.. why neither of the swapbros seemed to remember anything beyond their own universe.

~~~~~

"GgoOtTchA!" A warbled voice broke out, as blue strings raced through the air. Flowey gave a startled screech and dove to cover his only companion. The lavender flower tried to shield itself as the attack descended upon them. Flowey hissed obscenities and tried to strike out at the blue strings which coiled bout him, separating him from the flower who had been brought down the hole in the mountain some weeks ago.. begrudgingly he had begun to actually enjoy the other sentient flower's company, and now she was being stolen away.

"Let her go, you stupid glitching idiot!" The flower spat out in venomous rage, if he had a soul it would have broken as he watched his only friend wince and whine as her leaves and vines were coiled up firmly in the strings, and soon the ground rippled and broke as she was torn from the earth below her. Roots exposed, she screeched in agony and pleaded to be released.

"MayWeather!" Flowey cried out for her, but the strings had soon cocooned about her. 

"SsSsorRrrrry Bud, ttTthis doOoesn'Tt bbBeloNgg hhHere." The twitching dark figure winked and as quickly as he had appeared, he vanished with the one known as MayWeather. Flowey gave a strangled cry into the emptiness of the abandoned ruins.. alone.. alone again.. "Its not fair!" he screamed, the cry echoing out into the forgotten place.

~~~~

Adding another anomaly to his collection, Error smirked to himself.. this was wrapping up rather nicely, soon everything would be falling into place, and he could finally set out to finish what he sat out to do all along. 

"Hey.. um.. boss?" ugh, the bloody moron was back.. Error whipped about and shot a glare of pure hate at the broken, axe weilding Sans who had disturbed his domain. At least the useless pile of bones of a brother had not followed him this time. "WwWhat?" he snapped at the horrific version of Sans, and the monster actually winced and took a step back, Horror would never admit this, but if there was anything or anyone he feared.. at least for now, it was Error. "We did as you wanted.. the key is out of the universe you sent us to.. so.. about our agreement.."

Error rolled his eyes, this again. "YyeAh.. a.a..aalL in gGgooOd t.i..Me." He dismissively waved the other Sans away, earning a low growl from Horror.. he had, had just about enough of being bossed around by this monster, and now that Papyrus was no longer being controlled.. well, maybe he could just do what he wanted to in the first place. "Know what, glitchy bitchy? How about we do things my way for once." Error gave a sigh of irritation and stepped aside as a bloodied bone burst through where he had stood before. "S.Sso ssStuupPid..."

Papyrus sat outside the door which lead to the realm Error had claimed for his own, he had no desire to go in there, but he hated leaving his brother alone with that version of him.. Error was unstable, more so then Sans had been, and it worried him. His large fingers danced over the joints of his knees with worry as he waited. Little did he know of the trouble his brother had gotten himself into, beyond that door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this is short.. it really should have been part of the last chapter, but its been a long and difficult day! I hope you guys are not too upset by this. Anyway, yes, things are beginning to take form in the story, hope you enjoy following along this progression!


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Dust to Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Error and Horror face off, a realm begins to fail.. and this was so hard to write.. hope it is not too confusing!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who did not see my previous note in place of this chapter, I want to apologize that this chapter took so long. Been unable to sit down and write for a bit, but I will do my best to make up for it. Also, if this chapter goes as planned, well, there is some 
> 
> heavy aspects in it.
> 
> Also.. I hate writing out Error's speech!

Error easily dodged, wove and dipped out of the way as Horror's attacks sailed through the broken space of time that Error claimed as his own. The glitchy Sans' strings were beginning to weave like a spider's web about the foolish skeleton who had turned against him, though he would be untrue to say he did not expect this to happen. Fools can only be controlled for so long, after all. And for the matter at hand, it was a nice diversion and a good way to release some of the pent up aggravation that had been building, the dark skeleton had been brooding more so then usual, and needed to unleash his anger upon something..

Horror had known his mistake the moment that first attack had sailed through the air, but what was done, was done. He also knew full well, the laws of the void. Dust here, and there are no more resets. He would have to ensure that he could either bring the tyrant down, or make sure Papyrus had enough warning to escape the monster's wrath. The axe had long since been lost, as it was the first thing to be woven up in blue strings, and sliced through as if it were made of clay. The loss of his favored weapon, Horror now held a magic summoned bone in his hands, sporting it as one would a bat, he used it to swing with abandon at his oppressor. Unfocused, desperate flailing attacks, mirrored with an onslaught of his magic projectiles, Horror was doing his best to push Error away, but he knew he was swiftly losing ground. He was out matched.. years of starvation and the previous fights, had weakened him and dulled his brute strength.

He knew Error was toying with him now, as he rolled to the side, just barely escaping a looping thread which had tried to coil about his exposed soul. 'Not good..' There was only one chance now, to get out of this with his soul intact.. and it was fool hearty at best. 

Taking the last reserves of his strength, Horror hurled his blunted bone weapon hurling towards Error, of course the maniacal creature dodged the attack, but in turn found a wall of blood stained bones blocking the path between him and Horror and another wall closing in behind him. It was a useless attack, but it stole enough time for Horror to hurl himself against the portal door behind him, and tumble out into the passageway of doors.

A very startled Papyrus was on his feet at once, scooping up his drained brother.. it was easy enough to see what had taken place. Razor thin lines marred the skeleton's body, his clothing sliced to ribbons and hung in tatters about his damaged form, and the sweat that clung to the injured skeleton's bones spoke volumes to the magic he had spent. Papyrus, usually not one to run, knew full well that the trouble Sans had faced, was not something they needed to take on within the void... danger was always a part of their lives, but death beyond the doors, was something he had been warned of many times before.. and though all of this void stuff still boggled Papyrus, he never doubted his brother's word.. "Run.." Sans rasped as he was cradled to his brother's chest, fatigue weighing heavily upon him.

A second wall of bones was summoned now, this set however, glowed with the energy that only Papyrus could summon. Strong, and stubborn as he was, the wall would hold for a time. And it would enrage Error as he found his passage beyond his own portal door barred. No matter, however, this one portal was not his only means of passing between the lines of code which shimmered just at the corner of his vision. His staticy laughter filled the hallways of timelessness, urging Papyrus' frantic pace as he now sped away, holding his brother to his chest.

Door after door was cocooned in the webs of cyan, sealing away means of escape for the pair, and desperation clung to the air so thick that Papyrus could barely see as he raced along.. He was not as familiar with this place as his brother was, and this brought a rattling shiver to his bones, he could not allow them to fall.. not with all they had come through, not with the promise of a new future so near.. all he had to do was get home, even if they failed, once home.. it would all be well again. A sharp yelp shattered his attention however, casting a worrying glance down to his charge in his arms, his soul froze. Cruel, blue strings had wove about Sans' soul, and Papyrus could only scream in horror as he watched the lines cut through the essence of what made up his brother. Coiling his arms tighter about his brother, he pleaded the skeleton to hold on.. already he could feel the burden he carried becoming lighter.. knowing well that as he ran, he was leaving dust trailing behind him.

The first string which had cut through, had struck Horror like a knife, searing pain slicing through his magic. Curling his fingers in his brother's scarf, his vision fading, Sans fought as he could against the encroaching darkness, but if there was one promise he would not break, it was this last one.. he would make sure his brother would be safe, one way or another. Desperation is a funny thing, it can cause us to do things that others will never understand.. and so Papyrus would later question his brother's actions, as Sans gave the last of his magic, to bring a large bone barreling up beneath his brother. The obstacle actually proved not to slow the pair, for that was never the intention, but rather it sent the large skeleton sailing and crashing through the nearest door as the threads were attempting to seal it. The force and momentum of Papyrus' fall tore through the deadly snare, splintering the door and breaking the magical barrier between the void and the unfortunate world it protected. 

Papyrus fell with a cry as he landed, arms out stretched before him, trying as he could, not to land upon the remains of his brother, as his life slipped away into grains of grey dust. A wail of despair tore from the great skeleton as he stumbled and fell over his own bones, 

trying to collect up all of the bits of sand and dust, the unforgiving winter wind had already begun to steal away what had been his dear sibling, leaving a broken Papyrus behind. The world which the pair had crashed into, did not have long to question the sudden intrusion. The shattering of the portal door had begun to unweave the essence of that realm, sweeping snow and staticy lines throughout the air. Papyrus paid it no heed as he knelt over the place which served as his final reminder of his brother. His soul shattering wails were swallowed up by the roar of a realm dying, magic sparking wildly in disorder , searching for anything to hold to as it unraveled. 

~~~

It was as thunder rolling through the nothingness, alerting those who could hear the cry of a realm's death. Error had now abandoned his chase, the death of a world was not something to be captured up in, and he slunk back to his stolen domain, leaving the mess for someone else to deal with. Thankfully, there are those who have witnessed such things before, and were quick to act. Scattered and forgotten, he was the first to respond, dark and spidery threads raced through the corridor, collecting the elements of the broken door as they surged on. He had to be swift, if there was any hope to save the portal and the precious world it held.

The great mind was not forced to work alone, as the lost scientist's magic strove to mend the barrier of realm and void, others would be soon at his aid.

The cry had struck through Dream as if a javelin of ice had pierced through the core of his being, and he had not been alone in this fact, his gaze locked with Ink and in time, with the skeleton they had been speaking with. A crackle of combined magic, leaving Alphys' lacking three visitors, and her various monitors and devices blaring in alarm as sensitive equipment was dealt the backlash of their departure.

They arrived in time to find Gaster doing what he could, to close the broken portal, the unstable form of the former royal scientist was at its limit as he fought against the buckling energies which threaten to tear beyond his hold. Ink was soon at hand, his brush working its task to undo the damage as quickly as he could, while Dream shielded and bubbled as he could, trying to slow and cease the growing cracks that snaked out from the broken doorway. Sans, the first and true, stood by their side, surveying the scene in disbelief.. he had   
never witnessed a world die.. and it was not a sight he would want to see again.

The three struggled against the tsunami of energy which tried to break beyond their efforts, Ink barked out an order to Sans. "Use your blaster! Gaster, move when I give the word, Dream.. bubble the door way on the count of three!"

"One."

"Two.."

"THREE!"

Blue, white, golden yellow, and so much more.. it all swirled and blinded those who looked on as Sans' magic seared against the shield Dream had summoned. Ink's own magic was at work, harnessing the force of the two he had called upon, using the blinding force to   
create a new barrier. Sans was left gasping for breath, Dream knelt, and Ink's own legs threatened to give way beneath him. Gaster had all but oozed away as the great task had taxed each of them severally. They had done it, they had managed to seal off the realm. 

The gaping hole where the door had once stood, had been replaced with a, ebbing glow of color, splattered against the stark white where the door once stood.

"I..is it.." Dream wheezed, it hurt to try to speak.. saving this world had been severally strenuous . "Is it safe? Did.. did it survive?"

Ink gave only a solemn nod.. they had indeed saved the realm, but at a cost. This portal, was sealed with no means to be reopened.

End of Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This.. was hard to write, I can see it all clearly in my head, but I could not portray it well. I am so sorry if it was confusing. And yes, I know I took a great deal of artistic liberty here, as I wrote out the death of the realm Horror Pap and Horror Sans had fell into.   
>  For those wondering, yes, they did make it into a realm in time, H.Sans might have a chance to respond, but now H.Pap is trapped in a timeline without a means to leave it. Sorry again, this is really difficult for me to explain.. the following chapters will not be so, eh..   
> hard to understand. This is just a scene was one I needed to get out of the way.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Nearing The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're closing in, nearing the end of this part of the story. But do not worry, my dear readers, I have plans to continue the story along in a series. Just gotta tie up some loose ends here..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided that I will soon be ending this story. I may make it a series, if anyone is interested. I know I do not have enough time to pull all the questions together, but this story has opened a gateway for a project, and I hope to improve upon it. I do thank everyone who has made it this far through the story, and I understand a lot of it has been confusing.. honestly, it has been difficult to write at times. The series will be known as the MayWeather Equation, so please hold on, because even though this story shall soon be at its conclusion, we are far from done.

The dust had settled, leaving the trio to collect and retreat for now. Whatever, and Ink was fairly certain he knew just what had happened, caused the door to break and nearly collapse, had vanished for now. They would find no answers lingering before the scarred and sealed portal. Fatigue rested upon the shoulders of each as they made their way back, an unusual and unsettling silence held the three as they continued on. It just did not set well with Ink, too many things were happening, the stir of magic in the air.. the arrival of some unnamed human, Dusty having attacked the human without any sort of reason or source.. as well as many more issues he had yet to voice. It all was bringing a buzz of pain to his skull.

"We should.. check on her." Dream was the first to speak, his youthful exuberance was hushed and still. Troubled by what he had witnessed, he could only give the faintest of a smile to Sans when the monster placed his hand upon the robed creature's shoulder. "Yeah, best not stick around, eh?" His chuckle was empty and listless as he flicked a finger against the staff Dream held to as if it were a life line. Dream just shook his head, the puns were going to be weak and poorly structured today. As they arrived back at the lab, Alphys greeted them with growing concerned.. the three skeletons were worn and weary, and something seemed to be dragging their spirits down. "S..Sans?" The timid scientist squeaked as she motioned for her friend to step away from the pair and follow her.

Dream and Ink were unconcerned at being dismissed, or rather, left behind. The strain on their magic reflected on their physical form, and soon the pair were seated upon a bench, leaning against each other as twin faint wheezing snores rose from the tired monster. 

Sans quietly envied the chance to rest, but whatever Alphys' had to talk to him about, must have been important.. he could feel the tension radiating from her, and it was unlike her usual timid nature. She lead him away from the waiting area where they left the pair, and to a small office within the confines of the lab. There she motioned for him to sit with a few stuttering apologies, rounded about to her seat at a desk and began to rifle through paperwork.

"Ok, spill it already, Alphys. Your acting like Napsta popped in and spooked you, or something." Sans yawned as he reclined back in the seat, leaning it off of two of the four legs as he reclined. Alphys' shuffled the papers in her claws nervously and did not meet his gaze for a few moments till finally she found her voice and steadied herself to speak.

"T..That h..h..human, the o..one you brought i..in.."

"Yeah? What about her?" Sans attempted to stifle another yawn.. if they had lost the girl, well that would be unfortunate.. but as most things in the Underground, nothing was really written in stone, not even death.. he knew that well enough.

"S..She isn't human, Sans."

The skeleton sputtered, and the chair slid back and out from under him, leaving the startled skeleton a pile of grumbling bones on the floor.

"The hell, Alphys!? What do you mean she isn't human? I would know a human if I found one.. hell I carried her here, she looked, and felt like a human. And now you are trying to tell me she isn't?" He had picked himself up, dusted his clothing off as his mini rant continued, why did this bother him so much? It wasn't exactly a key point in his life anyway, so something that looked like a human wasn't a human? Ok yes, it did bother him.. with the way his life(s) had been playing out, he needed as many possible aspects to be written in plain black and white, there was no more room for grey areas anymore.

"I..I..I'm s..sorry S..Sans, but I checked.. I.. I rechecked.. her soul, its.. its not human. Look!" She shoved a handful of papers towards him, and he swiftly scooped them up, his pin prick eye lights searching the paper work for any scrap of useful information.. and none of it made sense. Her soul chart was unusual.. there were hints at a monster's soul, but it was misplaced, perhaps a weak bond or something. There were traces of resets written all over her soul's signature.. lines and cracks which when tapped for information, flooded the computers till several had crashed. Sans' own soul felt tight at this, how many times had this girl gone through a reset?

Codes and lines of data, none of it made any sense at all to him.. And he knew this stuff well enough, but nothing was matching up, not even to the archives of the former royal scientist's work. Sure Gaster had played around with human souls, even attempting to recreate an artificial one, to assist in breaking the barrier.. but none of his experiments had left signatures like this. Too much was unclear, hidden beneath confusing lines of information, or perhaps misinformation.

"So what are we dealing with here, Alphys?" Sans' sharp gaze made the nervous monster take a step back, placing a claws hand upon the desk once more, she produced a binder from beneath the mountain of paper work and held it close to her chest as if it were a shield of some sort. "I..I suspect.. she is, an unclassified, a..at best.. "

"And what if this isn't an at best, situation?"

"I..I think she could be a.." the reptilian monster swallowed down the lump in her dry throat and began flipping through the pages of the binder held firmly in her claws. "H..here.. I think.. I am n..not certain, b..but I think she maybe, this." She held the pages open for her friend, one boney brow quirked and his ice laden tone hissed with uncertainty and disdain. "Mayweather.."

~~~~~

Light and dark danced before your eyes as you slept. Something roared and tumbled in the distance.. reminding you of waves and the memory brought up the salty brine of the ocean.. the memory is a funny thing, in that aspect. The emptiness around you shifted, revealing a memory you knew well. You found yourself seated beside your older brother.. he was a child now, and from how you had to gaze up to him, you knew your own age to be quite young as well. Kneeling beside you, on a blanket of red and white checkard pattern, a figure whose face you could not make out very well, held something out to you. Oh, it was a sandwich.. you were hungry, the car ride had been a long one, and you remembered how you had made a rather large fuss at breakfast, refusing to eat the oatmeal you had been offered.

before your tiny hands could pluck up the offered item, your brother had snatched it away and was greedily stuffing it in his mouth. Smearing peanut butter and jelly along his face in the process. The figure without any facial features you could remember, chastised him for his behavior and soon another sandwich was produced and offered to you. You remembered the taste well.. strawberry, you had loved it. The crunch of the peanut bits in the spread, and the large chunks of strawberries in the preserves had been just what you had been wanting all day. You recalled how your mother.. that's right, that person was your mother.. how she had laughed and tried to clean the pair of you up, before giving up with a laugh and sending you off to play in the water with your friends.

Your...friends..

The image shifted, blurred and distorted, you were in the salty water, but those around you were unfamiliar. They laughed and teased, and you screeched when your brother dunked you beneath the water.. but something about this memory was not right. You felt yourself begin to claw at the fragments of the imagery before you, why did all of this feel forced? Something unclear and uneasy snaked through your vision and faded the memory as you fought to dismiss it. Dark lines raced across your sight, piecing together another scene, this one of a holiday.. you were seated before a large tree with blinking lights, tearing through colorful paper..

"Enough!" your own voice sounded harsh and bellowing to your ears as you dismissed the imagery as you had done before. Once more, something was attempting to patchwork another scene, but now you were prepared. Striking out, your fingernails raked down one of the dark tendrils, and wisps of smoke raced between your fingers. The appendage recoiled back to the recesses of your mind, leaving you with a half stitched together memory.. it looked like an old photograph now.. yellowed and unfinished, the remaining colors were draining away.

You were standing now in what seemed an open space, darkness around you with only the light of the imagery before you, offering any illumination. Stepping towards the scene, your footsteps echoed eerily and sent a shiver down your spine, but with a roll of your shoulders and a huff, you ventured on. It was unlike before, unfinished.. you were not swept up into the scene, but stood outside of it. Reaching out to touch one of the fading pieces, it crumbled beneath your touch like aged paper. As the bites and pieces of the damaged vision fell, you found a glimmer of something unusual.. a bright, and tiny thread of white light.

Hesitant, you ever so carefully tapped the line of light with your finger.. and the world around shook. You stumbled and nearly fell, but found yourself reaching out once more. Whatever it was.. whatever it could be, held some strong hold onto where you were now. 

This time, you were not timid, afraid still but ready for what would come when your fingers not only touched the line, but coiled firmly about it. The sound that broke out around you , was as if someone had shattered several mirrors, or various glass objects. The sound was near deafening, but you held firm. As the cascading noise roared about you, the darkness fell in time with the sounds.

You sat up with a gasp for breath, alarms and alerts blared about you, the din of noise soon had you holding your hands to your ears as you tried to hold back the swarm of blaring machinery. The world was coming back into focus now, as you sat upon some sort of cold, metal table. A white cloth draped over your legs, the tattered remains of your dress still clinging to your body.. it was no longer crisp and clean but stiff in places where blood had caked to the cloth and dried brittle. Reality had begun to flood your senses, the scent of the room was.. only what you could call sterile. Disinfectant had been used recently. The bright light which glared down at you from over head was near blinding to your eyes as you winced and recoiled under the sheet.

Footsteps thudded near by, alerted by the alarms of the machines, which you had soon discovered where attached to you in various locations. You wanted to tug the wires and probes away from your body, but the tape that clung to your skin, was a sore reminder that you were not really in much of a shape to be ripping anything away at the moment. The reminder came in the warning of nerves that were over sensitive from recent injury and healing. Your contemplations were ground to halt however as the white fabric was tore away from your grasp, and you found yourself staring into wide, concerned eye lights.

"Sans!" Your voice croaked in a joyous screech and you flung your arms about the small skeleton. You would question his odd attire later.. for now you were grateful to have someone you knew, back in your arms once more. Openly weeping, you held to the, oddly still, skeleton and buried your face into the crook of his neck, the yellow fabric was strange but soft.. you would really have to question him later about it. A small hand lightly patted your back, as wide eye sockets shifted to Ink who stood in the door way. He could only offer poor Dream a shrug.. this was not really uncommon, those who had befriended one of the various Sans, could confuse another.. and this was diffidently a time that such a situation could take place.

"Umm.. friend?" Sans' voice was.. odd. It wasn't as certain, and loud as you were used to, and the inflection was off, if even just the tiniest bit. Letting loose your grip just enough so you could sit back, it was now you realized yet again.. something wasn't right. "..You're not Sans are you?"

"Well, kid.. he might not be the one your looking for, but he is technically.. a Sans"

This voice was gravelly, deep and yet oddly familiar as well. You nearly jumped out of your skin as you discovered another version of your friend had appeared by your side. He was larger then your friend, a bit gruffer and messier in appearance and attire.. and he seemed, tired. You craned your head to the side, taking in the confusing image before you.. he reminded you of someone, the way he slouched when he stood, his choice of clothing.. the laziness to his grin.

"..Paps? No.. can't be.." It was clear to those about you, that your question was one spoken more to yourself, then to the skeleton you stared at, but the name brought recognition to his white pin prick eye lights. "Ah, I think I get it.. your Sans, let me guess.. has too much energy then he knows what to do with?"

you could only give a small nod.

"Right, then that answers the first question.. hey Ink, think you can go find the blue ball for us? Bring along Honey while you are at it, I think they might be looking for someone." Now he winked to you, and your heart warmed a bit.. yeah, he maybe different, but he was a Sans.. 'A Sans' how odd that sounded to you. How could there be multiple versions of your friends?

Your attention shifted to yet another doppelganger of your friend, this one was taller then the one you had yet let go of, and seemed to have what you could amusing call, an artistic flare about him. A quick exchange took place between him and the sloppy Sans, before he turned and walked away through the doorway he had been leaning against. 

Your attention was brought down to the monster you had been clinging to, and the realization that this was not 'your' Sans, caused you to squeak out an apology and scoot back, releasing the bundle of yellow fabric and confusion. He offered his own apologies for not speaking up sooner, and a golden hue of a blush dusty his features. He had seemed so much like your friend, that you had not thought a thing about it while you had been holding on to him as if he were a rag doll.

A firm hand was placed upon your shoulder, and your attention was brought back to the hoodie clad monster. "Kid, I think we all have a lot of questions, but for now.. I want you to go with Alphys, get cleaned up before Blue shows up, your a mess.. and he will be in a fit if he sees you like this. Once you are clean and settled, we have a lot to talk about."

You gave a small nod, and looked to where you expected to find the armor clad yellow warrior you knew well, but instead found a lab coated monster who trembled and stuttered when she spoke.

This.. this was going to give you a massive headache.

End of chapter fifteen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this does not come across as rushed. I am trying to piece together some of the remaining chapters before we get to some much needed answers.


	16. Agh, sorry, Notes!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ugh.. I'm horrible -_-

I am so sorry I have not updated in awhile. I really am having the worst case of writer's block. To tide my readers over, I have posted a (oh my stars I pray it stays short) short story. Hopefully soon I can get back on track!


	17. Sorry, just a note.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A note concerning this story

I am very sorry to make this last chapter just a note, but I wanted to keep my readers up to date on what is going on. This started out as just something to break my writer's block, but it evolved into something more. I would like to fix this story in many ways, that being said.. I have decided to end this story here, and give it more then just a rewrite. It is getting a complete overhaul. A lot of the same elements will stay true, after all, there was a lot of heart put into this (once we got past chapter one..) and I do not wish to lose that. At the same time however, I feel this could have been something better.. so I have started a series, The Mayweather Experiment. Each work in that series will be leading up to something important. So, I hope you can forgive me, and will follow me on this journey to where this new work will be taking us! 

I am wanting to give the characters more depth, and be easier to understand their movties..why they do the things they do. So please, forgive me for being such a lack luster author and I encourage your patience with me. Thank you. 

Sincerely..

Pen


End file.
